New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole made a triumphant return to the mound on Friday night, pitching six shutout innings against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium.
It was his first Major League Baseball start in 569 days following elbow reconstruction surgery.
The 35-year-old right-hander allowed two hits and three walks while striking out two batters. He threw 50 of his 72 pitches for strikes.
Cole averaged 96.1 mph with his four-seam fastball, reaching a peak velocity of 98.6 mph during the first inning.
He also debuted a new overhead hand movement in his windup.
The six-time All-Star and 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner had not pitched in a regular-season game since Game 5 of the World Series on October 30, 2024.
He underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2025 after suffering a tear in his right ulnar collateral ligament during spring training.
Mindset and Recovery
Before his return, Cole discussed his mindset during a minor league rehab assignment. He emphasized the importance of throwing strikes and maintaining consistency across his pitches.
“A lot of strikes — that’s good,” Cole said. He noted that his arsenal felt balanced during his progression back to the majors.
“Consistency out of all the offerings, which was nice,” he added.
Cole expressed particular satisfaction with his changeup. “I was pleased with the changeup.
The shape and location was pretty good … probably the best it’s been [so far],” he said.
The new hands-over-the-head windup motion was something Cole discovered accidentally before his surgery. “I was just goofing around one day … during last summer,” he explained.
He found that the altered mechanics suited his preferences. “It felt good.
I liked the rhythm. I just kind of stuck with it,” Cole said.
Cole also monitored how his pitches performed relative to different setups.
“I’ve been checking to see how the stuff is relative to the stretch and the windup,” he noted.
Reflecting on the low point of entering surgery, Cole detailed the psychological weight of the procedure.
“It’s hard to get any lower than when you’re going into it,” he said. He acknowledged the persistent setbacks during rehabilitation.
“And then you keep hitting the bottom,” Cole added.
He remained aware of the clinical risks.
“I don’t know of anybody that hasn’t come out of the Tommy John room, but that contributes to your low point going in,” he said.
Cole maintained a balanced outlook to avoid perfectionism affecting his recovery. “I’m still pragmatic about it,” he stated.
He focused strictly on short-term milestones. “I don’t take it more than one day at a time.
I never let myself think I wasn’t gonna come back, and I’ve never let myself think this is all gonna be fine and there’s gonna be no challenges and it’s gonna come back better.
I’m always trying to stay in the middle,” Cole explained.
Cole remembered the initial frustration from his second consecutive spring training injury in 2025. “There’s a part where you’re a little angry at the game,” he said.
He recalled how difficult it was to manage simple domestic routines while recovering.
“As opposed to just getting in and [physical therapist Joe Bello] is tearing my arm apart and that’s all I gotta do for the day, and I can’t watch the game, and my kids are at home after school, waiting for me,” Cole said.
Cole described the intense focus required before throwing his opening pitch. “Everything up to that point, you’ve controlled.
Then, within like 15 seconds, the ball is going to leave your hand and you have zero control over what’s going to happen,” he said.
He detailed how elite athletes use specialized routines to regain composure.
“There are different things you can do in any competition, and most elite athletes will tell you the same thing,” Cole noted.
Sensory triggers help re-anchor his focus.
“There’s a way to grab control back and get focus back to the things that you can control,” he said.
Team and Coach Reactions
Yankees bullpen coach Preston Claiborne stated that Cole exceeded performance expectations during his recovery in Florida.
“If we gave him an assignment or goals to hit, he would do it,” Claiborne said.
The coaching staff noticed Cole advanced through rehabilitation benchmarks rapidly. “And so he was able to accomplish things at a faster rate [than we expected],” Claiborne added.
UCLA head coach John Savage noted that Cole possessed exceptional physical tools as an 18-year-old freshman but needed to mature psychologically.
“Physically,” Savage said.
Savage observed that managing routines and emotions was the final step in Cole's development.
The sports psychology textbook “Heads-Up Baseball” by Ken Ravizza and Tom Hanson emphasizes adaptability over absolute perfection.
Austin Wells provided the lone run of the game with a fifth-inning home run off pitcher Nick Martinez, securing the win for the Yankees.
