On Monday, the New York Yankees received good news when Gerrit Cole threw off flat ground for the first time since suffering throwing elbow irritation. The Yankees are 9-2 without him, but they will need him back when he is ready.
The projection has been early June, which isn’t the worst timeframe in the world given that New York is 9-2 and the pitching staff has performed wonderfully. However, what was supposed to be a useful Cole update morphed into an MLB-wide discussion on pitching health.
Cole chastised Major League Baseball for its response to the Players Association’s worry over the spike in elbow injuries. Many pitchers believe that the introduction of the pitch clock and the ban on sticky substances are primary factors.
The league disagrees, and Cole felt compelled to speak up. Rather than continuing the debate to address the root of the issue, Cole appeared to believe the league was shutting it down to avoid further controversy.
A year after introducing the contentious pitch clock, which was already a hot topic, MLB cut the duration from 20 seconds to 18 seconds for 2024, in what felt like an arbitrary, unneeded push in the wrong direction.
Gerrit Cole criticizes MLB for pitching injuries after taking first step toward return.
“Well, we can start by having more helpful conversations and not pointing fingers and not saying that it’s absolutely this or it’s absolutely not that and we can make it feel that players aren’t necessarily caught in the middle of all of it,” he said. “But those aren’t going to be directly related to improved performance. I do not have the answers. I’m really irritated because I don’t feel that the players’ well-being is the primary priority.”
Some rival fans have chastised Cole for his remarks because, well, why else? Any time someone speaks out or responds, it is automatically characterized as “whining.” But Cole is far from alone in his dissatisfaction with the league, and he certainly feels obligated after being a member of the MLBPA for a decade and representing the league as one of its finest pitchers.
Could we have made a better analogy? Sure. But the point is still valid. Rob Manfred’s MLB has felt like a unilateral rule, with little involvement from the most essential and influential figures. This is far from the only issue that has surfaced since he took over as commissioner upon Bud Selig’s retirement.
The Yankees, in particular, have suffered far too many pitching injuries in the last year, so everyone on the roster has the right to voice out. Cole’s efforts should be viewed positively since he can assist the discourse go forward.
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