Gerrit Cole Quotes

All I really try to do is whatever hitter gets in there, I just try to get him out in as few pitches as possible.

I don't try for strikeouts, but batters just swing and miss. I'd exchange strikeouts for more innings. As a starter, my job is to go deep into the game. When you get strikeouts, you throw a lot of pitches and sometimes you come out early.

My pitch count as a general rule was 135. And I knew how many pitches I had when I went to the mound for the last three innings.

If you are used to going five innings and then go six or seven, you won't have your good stuff. They need to start that from the minor leagues and give pitchers strong arms.

I'm not executing my pitches. I'm not commanding my fastball, and I get behind in the count. When I try to throw strikes, I'm getting hurt. That's not the way I pitch.

John Wetteland had a very good curveball. He threw it for a strike, too, in any count, any situation. But, he really didn't use it much. He didn't want to throw it. He wanted to throw fastball-slider.

My pitching philosophy is simple - keep the ball way from the bat.

Too many pitchers, that's all, there are just too many pitchers Ten or twelve on a team. Don't see how any of them get enough work. Four starting pitchers and one relief man ought to be enough. Pitch 'em every three days and you'd find they'd get control and good, strong arms.

Ken Holtzman could pitch a game in ninety minutes. Wouldn't throw a breaking ball. And he had a great breaking ball.

If I can execute pitches and keep the ball out of the middle of the plate, I know I can have success.

Strikeouts are important. Anytime you can generate an out without the ball being put in play, there's nothing that can be done in those situations.

I know when I get to 0-2, 1-2, when I'm ahead in the count, that I hold a distinct advantage over every single hitter. I have so many options because I don't have to work within the strike zone anymore.

I'm not trying to throw six or seven pitches just to be able to strike you out. I'm trying to do it in three or four. It's the homework and the process between starts that I really focus on to help me do that.

If a pitcher goes up there and he's throwing a ball and it's a breaking ball down and away or a fastball up and in, a perfect pitcher's pitch, and you're able to just foul it off and stay alive in the at-bat, just keep grinding, keep working through the at-bat and hoping for that mistake that he's going to make. And if he doesn't, then you walk.

Half the time, I have trouble following our own pitcher's sequence.

I just try to make the pitcher work.

That's when I'm at my best. When I can throw a fastball over in the count, just throw strikes both in and away, it just sets up all my stuff.

I'll get in that habit of throwing the ball over the plate too much. You want to keep it going, get those guys back into the dugout. But it's not a good thing when you're over more than a third of the plate.

I'm trying to make sure that I get to my 0-2, 1-2 counts. That's really how I would rather phrase it: I'm trying to make sure that I can drive the count into my favor.

There's more to pitching than just striking guys out, but also it is a big reason why you can have success.

My pitching philosophy is simple. I believe in getting the ball over the plate and not walking a lot of men.

The only time I really try for a strikeout is when I'm in a jam. If the bases are loaded with none out, for example, then I'll go for a strikeout. But most of the time I try to throw to spots. I try to get them to pop up or ground out. On a strikeout I might have to throw five or six pitches, sometimes more if there are foul-offs. That tires me. So I just try to get outs. That's what counts - outs. You win with outs, not strikeouts.

Once I get completely right mechanically and with command, maybe I only use two or three pitches to get through seven innings.

Typically, being under the strike zone with the sinker isn't a big issue. I need to be a little bit higher with the strike zone earlier in the count. If you miss under with one here and there when you're ahead, it's really not an issue.

Every single pitcher is making changes every single start. You can talk to any pitcher about this.