Gerrit Cole appears to have received approval for his first start in 2024 from his most lovable fan.
Yankees ace Cole’s 3-year-old son, Kaden, was in attendance for his father’s big day on Wednesday night, with Prime Video cameras capturing the 41-year-old sharing a moment with his son as they sat near the home dugout.
In the heartwarming video, Cole can be seen peering out of the home team dugout and smiling as he sees the stands.
The camera then cut to Kaden, who was sitting with his mother Amy, standing up and smiling and waving at his father.
The boy started to sit down but continued clapping and waving at Cole.
Cole made his first start in 266 days on Wednesday night in the Bronx, pitching four-plus innings and allowing three hits and two runs while striking out five in the Yankees’ 10-inning, 7-6 loss to the Orioles.
The last time Cole took the mound in a Yankees uniform was on September 27th of last year against the Blue Jays.
Cole missed nearly 12 weeks to start the season because of neuritis and swelling in his pitching elbow.
The 33-year-old has made three rehab appearances in the minor leagues, including a double summer start during a June 4 game at TD Bank Ballpark when Amy Cole caught a foul ball.
It was Cole’s first rehab start and the major leaguer’s first return to the minor leagues since 2016, which coincidentally was also the year he married his wife, Amy.
On game day, the Patriots posted a photo on social media of Amy Cole holding a foul ball.
She played softball at UCLA.
Wednesday marked the second of a three-game series between the Yankees and Orioles.
The Bronx Bombers finished with a 51-25 record but still trailed the second-place Orioles by 1¹/₂ games.
