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New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has yet to make a Grapefruit League start in 2022 spring training. When he does toe the rubber for the first time this spring, he'll be hoping to replicate something similar to what Max Scherzer produced in his spring debut for the New York Mets. After Scherzer threw five innings on Monday, a remarkable amount for his first start of the spring, Cole couldn't hide his amazement with the three-time Cy Young award winner. Via David Lennon, Cole described Scherzer as an “animal” when asked about the five-inning outing.
Cole threw his second live BP session today — he’s yet to make a Grapefruit start — then was asked what he thought about Max Scherzer pitching 5 innings Monday vs Marlins.
“The dude’s an animal,” Cole said.#yankees #mets
— David Lennon (@DPLennon) March 22, 2022
There's nothing from respect between the new cross-town rivals, as Cole was just as bewildered as the rest of us by Scherzer's remarkable endurance in his first appearance of the year. Despite being 37, Scherzer is showing no indications of slowing down heading into his 15th season in MLB.
The addition of Scherzer was arguably the signing of the offseason, and if his first spring start was any indication of what caliber player the Mets added, fans should be feeling optimistic heading into the 2022 campaign. Cole was certainly impressed with what Scherzer did on the mound Monday.
In Monday's loss to the Marlins, Scherzer tossed 5.0 innings, striking out five batters and surrendering 1 earned run. The 37-year-old allowed 3 hits and didn't walk a hitter. He's coming off a strong season with the Nationals and Dodgers, during which he recorded a 2.46 ERA with 236 strikeouts across 179.1 innings of work.
Scherzer signed a three-year, $130 million deal with the Mets this offseason, outdoing Cole's own record with the Yankees for highest average annual value in a contract in MLB history.
