PHOTO: Gerrit Cole's wife Amy Cole catches a foul ball during husband’s first rehab start for Yankees' Double-A affiliate team
New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole pitched his first rehab assignment for minor Somerset Patriots on Tuesday night and he had his wife Amy Cole in the stands to cheer for him. Cole has been sidelined since the start of Opening Day due to right elbow inflammation and is nearing a return to the Yankees and this assignment was part of the process.
Cole was up on the mound facing the Hartford Yard Goats, a Colorado Rockies affiliate, at TD Bank Ballpark on Tuesday.
During the game, Amy Cole caught a foul ball off the hitter facing Gerrit. The wife kept it with her as a souvenir and posed for a photo with it, which was later shared by the Patriots on their social media handles.
In his first mound activity facing live hitters, Cole asserted his dominance, pitching 3.1 shutout innings that included five strikeouts across 45 pitches. His fastball touched 97 mph, indicating he was as good as before.
Ahead of Tuesday's series opener against the Minnesota Twins, Aaron Boone said this was one of the two starts Cole will be pitching in rehab assignment before they can decide on whether he is good to go in the majors.
Gerrit Cole visited a school in Bronx supported by their charity
Earlier in May, Gerrit Cole and Amy paid a visit to the Laboratory School of Finance and Technology. This school is part of the many educational institutions that receive donations from the Gerrit and Amy Cole Foundation. The charity, which was founded in 2020 by the Cole family, aims to "support organizations dedicated to improving the quality of life for children."
During the couple's visit, both of them had a meeting with the school staff and also had heartwarming interactions with its students.
"A personal community to our family you know we play just up the street and the Yankees already do so much in the area thought it was a great opportunity for us to try to make an impact," Cole said during the visit.
"We found this school just from researching schools in the Bronx and the more we had spoken with the principal we were just inspired to help enhance what they're already doing," Amy said.
Gerrit Cole shared a few laughs while interacting with students and learning more about their projects, which he found "insightful."