Could Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole become the Yankees' greatest starting pitcher of all time?

Now that Gerrit Cole has added an American League Cy Young Award to his resume of accomplishments, it might be time to start wondering if, by the end of his record-breaking, nine-year contract, Cole might be the greatest Yankee starting pitcher of them all.

Caveat: He’s still got some work to do, obviously. And some lofty personal standards to maintain as he ages.

But if he can continue the level of pitching he’s showcased since landing in The Bronx for an eye-popping $324 million before the 2020 season, perhaps we should debate just how high Cole should rank among pinstriped giants such as Whitey Ford, Lefty Gomez, Ron Guidry and Andy Pettitte.

Maybe this is a hot take loaded with recency bias. If that’s the case, apologies to the above hurlers, plus luminaries such as Red Ruffing, Herb Pennock, Waite Hoyt, Mike Mussina, Mel Stottlemyre and Roger Clemens.

But Cole reached such dizzying heights in 2023 that it’s tempting to think this way, especially since he became just the sixth Yankee pitcher to win a Cy Young Award, joining Bob Turley, Ford, Sparky Lyle, Guidry and Clemens.

In ‘23, Cole was the only qualified pitcher in the major leagues with a WHIP under 1.00 (0.98). His 2.63 ERA was the lowest in the American League and the second-lowest overall, behind only Blake Snell (2.25). It was also the lowest ERA by a qualified Yankee since 1980, when Rudy May had a 2.46 ERA.

Then there’s this: Cole had six starts this season in which he threw at least seven innings and allowed three or fewer baserunners. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no pitcher has had as many such starts since 1893, when the mound was fixed at its current distance from the plate – 60 feet, 6 inches.

By ERA+, a statistic that seeks to put a pitcher’s season in context by considering the rest of the league and is adjusted to his ballpark, Cole’s 2023 mark of 165 is the ninth-best in Yankee history. His 2020 season is the 23rd-best. Imagine if he adds a few more seasons like 2023, including a second or third Cy Young?

Ford has two of the top eight seasons in Yankee history in ERA+; Gomez has two of the top five. They are the only pitchers in Yankee lore with two seasons with an ERA+ at least as high as Cole’s 165 this year. Guidry’s remarkable 1978 season (208 ERA+) is the highest ever by a qualified Yankee pitcher and that is probably the single-best season of pitching in team history.

Cole, who was 15-4 in 33 starts, including two shutouts, has already banked plenty as a Yankee, especially in flashy strikeout stats. He is the only Yankee pitcher to have a career strikeouts-per-nine in double digits – 11.09. He had 222 strikeouts this year, tied for the seventh-most in franchise history, but 35 behind his own franchise record of 257, set in 2022. 

He’s the first Yankee pitcher ever to have at least 200 strikeouts in three different seasons. Obviously, Cole pitches in a more strikeout-heavy era than Ford or Gomez did, but of the two, only Ford had even a single 200-strikeout season.

The 33-year-old led the AL in wins (16) in 2021 and has paced the league in starts each of the past two years. There have been hiccups, too – remember his home run problem in 2022, when he gave up 33 to lead the AL? He trimmed that to 20 this past season. He did not pitch well in the playoffs in Boston in 2021, though he has been a successful postseason pitcher for the Yankees (3.49 ERA).

Now, it’s unlikely that Cole ever reaches the postseason heights that Ford or Gomez did. Ford holds the all-time record for World Series wins with 10. Gomez was 6-0 in World Series play. Still, Cole is 10-6 with a 2.93 ERA in October overall in his career and should have more chances. Assuming the Yankees get back to the playoffs (#sarcasm).

With Cole pitching for them, though, it’s probably an eventuality. Cole has an opt-out after the 2024 season, though the Yankees can void it by guaranteeing a $36 million salary for 2029.

If he stays in pinstripes that long, the back of his baseball card might just become the best in Yankee pitching history.