Gerrit Cole was impressed by Yankees’ mysterious 30-pound gizmo, report says
The Dodgers blew it with Gerrit Cole.
Like the New York Yankees, the Dodgers reportedly offered the coveted free agent pitcher a record-setting deal.
The Dodgers are also said to have had a wonderful four-hour meeting with Cole and his representatives late last month, probably much like the one he had with the Yankees during which he got to meet his idol Andy Pettitte.
So what was it that ultimately made Cole spurn the Dodgers and agree to sign with the Yankees earlier this week?
It must have been the 30-pound gizmo.
You know, the Yankees’ special gadget, apparently only broken out for heavyweights like Cole.
The Dodgers’ inability to land elite starter Gerrit Cole is on the owners, starting with Mark Walter, the controlling partner of Guggenheim Baseball Management.
Not ringing a bell? Well, check out this paragraph from a New York Post article by Joel Sherman:
“The Yankees provided Cole one of their favorite toys: a 30-pound-ish contraption shaped like home plate with a giant interlocking ‘NY’ that when opened reveals a facsimile of Yankee Stadium, with an iPad in the middle that contains pretty much every question you would have about the franchise — from breakdowns of all 27 championship teams to where to live and have your kids go to school, etc. Again, Cole and his wife were impressed.”
That last sentence is worth repeating — “Cole and his wife were impressed.”
So what if the Dodgers had come to Cole bearing some sort of fancy, high-tech monstrosity of their own, only theirs tipped the scales at even more than 30 pounds. Things just might have turned out differently.
Come on, Guggenheim! Time to up your game!
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