Gerrit Cole, the New York Yankees’ fire-breathing dragon of the mound, wields a fearsome arsenal of pitches. His heater roars like a hurricane, his slider dances like a wraith, and his curveball plunges hitters into an abyss of despair. But even dragons have vulnerable underbellies, and for Cole, there is a certain chink in his armor. Wonder what it is?

In a recent YES Network Twitter (X) chat with the ever-probing Jack Curry, the topic turned to baseball’s ultimate fantasy: stealing another pitcher’s pitch for one crucial start. Curry rattled off legends like Mariano Rivera and Johan Santana, their signature weapons tantalizingly within Cole’s grasp. Yet, the reigning AL Cy Young winner surprised everyone, including himself, with his answer.

The “Airbender of Pitching,” Gerrit Cole, might finally tame his weakest throw

“Damn!” Cole chuckles, clearly wrestling with the hypothetical. “The cutter… would’ve probably been a good answer before the second half of last year, but then, finally, I just gained some comfortability with it.” The admission sparks a curious twist: his biggest weapon isn’t borrowed magic; it is self-cultivated mastery.

But the real shocker awaits. When pressed about his weakest pitch, the Airbender of pitching confesses with hearty laughter, “My worst pitch is still… still my changeup.” The revelation brings a wave of relief to hitters everywhere, and their nightmares of evaporating fastballs are momentarily eased.

However, Gerrit Cole’s self-deprecation might be a smokescreen. With a mischievous glint in his eye, he offers a potential upgrade: “Maybe like, you know, maybe Pedro Martinez’s changeup.” The mere mention of “El Pedro’s” legendary arm-shivering changeup had fans buzzing. Could Cole be subtly hinting at adding the Dominican maestro’s weapon to his already gleaming repertoire?

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Yankees’ ace Cole juggles five flames; one needs kindling—can his changeup rise to the fire?

Gerrit Cole, the Bronx Bombers’ flamethrower, unleashes a five-pitch inferno on batters. But while his four-seamer sizzles like a meteor with a 53% usage, according to Baseball Savant, his slider dances like a heat mirage (20.8%), and his curveball plummets like a gravity grenade (12.1%), one pitch flickers like a dying ember: the changeup—a mere 7.1%, other than the newly introduced cutter, hanging at 7%.

Don’t get Cole wrong. His heater alone could melt glaciers. But when hitters wise up to the fastball symphony, they might just peek a gap for a frozen rope. That’s where the changeup, Cole’s neglected stepchild, needs to step up and become a raging inferno of its own.

Imagine this: Cole, two strikes in, unleashes a 97-mph heater. The batter flinches, then freezes as an 89 mph changeup materializes, painting the black. Strike three! The stadium erupts, and Cole’s grin burns brighter than his fastball.

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Can Gerrit Cole tame his wild changeup and make it roar alongside his fearsome fastball? The jury’s still out, but the stakes are burning hot. Add a perfectly controlled ice storm to his five-pitch inferno, and the Bronx Bomber ace won’t just dominate—he’ll redefine dominance. The heat’s on, and the answer’s brewing in Cole’s fiery arsenal.