New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has one of the best fastballs among MLB starters. Apparently, throwing that hard works up quite an appetite.
The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the top of the fifth inning on Saturday while leading 3-0 against the Baltimore Orioles. YES Network cameras showed Cole scarfing down a banana while getting ready to come back out for the bottom half of the inning.
Cole was seen peeling a banana flipped upside down from the bottom, and then ripping close to half of it apart and shoving that half into his mouth. After a few seconds of chewing, Cole flipped the banana around and quickly took three big bites to get the entire piece of fruit down.
Gerrit Cole's fruit consumption efficiency is off the charts. pic.twitter.com/gOaGKhlaY7
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) July 24, 2022
Cameras later caught the five-time All-Star sucking down orange slices prior to the sixth inning.
bro is just dismantling an orange pic.twitter.com/3YdpdAulus
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 24, 2022
The banana did not seem to help Cole at all. After retiring the first two batters in the fifth, Orioles infielder Jorge Mateo singled to center, stole second base and scored on an RBI single from outfielder Cedric Mullins. Mullins then scored on an RBI double from rookie catcher Adley Rutschman to make the score 3-2. Cole was able to strike out designated hitter Trey Mancini in the following at-bat to end the inning.
Cole, 31, was second in the American League in strikeouts (147), fourth in innings pitched (113.1) and fifth in WHIP (0.98) entering Saturday. He leads the league in fruit devoured.
