As a big leaguer for 10 seasons, a major league manager for 17 years and for the past dozen years a holiday visitor to Manhattan, Clint Hurdle has an understanding of the relationship between baseball and New York, where Hurdle’s playing career ended with the Mets in 1987.
As Gerrit Cole’s manager for five seasons in Pittsburgh, Hurdle has a handle on the 29-year-old right-hander’s mentality and makeup.
“He looked for the opportunity, and he has the opportunity,’’ Hurdle told The Post on Sunday via phone about Cole, who signed a record-breaking nine-year deal for a whopping $324 million to join the Yankees last week and will be introduced at a Yankee Stadium press conference this week. “He will be good for the team and the city.’’
Cole grew up in Southern California a Yankee fan but crushed them by going to UCLA after being their first-round selection in the 2008 draft. Three years later, he was the first pick of the draft by the Pirates and reached the big leagues in 2013, when Hurdle was the manager.
“I got to watch a kid grow up from a young player to a man,’’ Hurdle said of Cole, who went 59-42 with a 3.50 ERA in five seasons with the Pirates. He was dealt to the Astros after the 2017 season, when the Pirates liked their offer better than the Yankees’ package.
Before Cole signed with the Yankees, a person who knows him said he craves information and when it isn’t delivered he will challenge those in charge of getting it.
According to Hurdle, that is part of Cole’s everyday routine.
“He is prepared. He does his homework and is very focused,’’ Hurdle said. “Not only when pitching. The four days he isn’t pitching are as important as the day he is.’’
Obviously, Cole was a stud at Orange Lutheran High School in Orange County, Calif. Going No. 1 in the draft tells you he was the man at UCLA. The good ones have a presence and know what their responsibilities are to a team. At $324 million and after going 35-10 in two seasons with the Astros, a lot — too much? — will be expected from Cole in a city where the distance between standing ovations and ear-splitting boos covers 60 feet, 6 inches.
That was Cole’s rookie year, in which he went 10-7 with a 3.22 ERA in 19 starts. Tabbed for Game 2 of the NLDS against the Cardinals in St. Louis with the Pirates trailing, 1-0, in the best-of-five series, Cole delivered six innings of one-run pitching in a 7-1 Pirates victory. Given the ball in a deciding Game 5 over veteran A.J. Burnett, who gave up seven runs in two innings of Game 1, Cole allowed two runs in five innings of a 6-1 Pirates loss.
In 10 postseason starts Cole is 6-4 with a 2.60 ERA.
Not only does Cole feature a fastball in the high-90s, a filthy slider that makes hitters look silly and a fierce desire to compete, a crisp memory is another tool.
“He has tremendous recall and right now he is as good as it gets in the game,’’ Hurdle said. “He has separated himself and it has been fun to watch.’’
The Pirates didn’t retain Hurdle after a 69-92 season in 2019, so for the first time since 2010, when he was in between managing the Rockies and Pirates, Hurdle will have time to watch games. High on the list will be Cole’s starts.
“I am going to enjoy watching him,’’ Hurdle said. “He will be a good teammate. He will find his space in the clubhouse and find his space on the mound.’’
“He has a complete understanding of his role on the staff,’’ Hurdle said. “Look at the games he has pitched in the postseason. In 2013, we started him twice in the playoffs.’’