After dominating the sport for two years and landing a record contract, can an athlete raise expectations even more merely by speaking at a press conference?

You and I would have laughed at such a notion as early as breakfast time Wednesday morning. Then Gerrit Cole stepped on the stage here at Yankee Stadium.

Wow. Best first impression ever.

“If we’re going to do it,” Hal Steinbrenner said of his $324 million, nine-year commitment to Cole, after watching him crush his introductory day, “then it needs to be a guy like this.”

Look, New York tests and taxes ballplayers in a way that Pittsburgh and Houston just don’t, and this discussion won’t cover a freak injury, or simple physical wear and tear. But I’ll go out on a limb and say that, if Cole fails in The Bronx because of mental or emotional shortcomings, because of his inability to get out of his own way, then it will go down as an enormous surprise.


If DJ LeMahieu didn’t already own “The Machine” as a moniker, then Cole could claim it for himself, for he came off as the prototype ace that the Yankees’ analytics folks would design in a laboratory.

“His passion for what he does, his ability to articulate that passion, his understanding of who he is as a pitcher and what makes him a great pitcher is something I was blown away by,” Aaron Boone said.

For sure, Cole spoke knowledgeably and intensely about the craft that has made him a very wealthy man. Yet he talked the same way about teammates, and baseball history, and wine, for crying out loud.

He also displayed a showman’s knack for capturing an audience, whipping out the “YANKEE FAN TODAY TOMORROW FOREVER” sign he famously held as an 11-year-old fan during the 2001 World Series. “I’m here,” Cole proclaimed, after inviting Steinbrenner, his wife Amy and his agent Scott Boras to join him in a photo opportunity. “I’ve always been here.”


Then he proclaimed to thank a litany of folks, including Players Association groundbreaker Marvin Miller, who was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame two days before Cole landed his Yankees deal, as well as former player Curt Flood, whose challenge of the game’s reserve clause helped bring about the free agency that Cole rode to the Yankees. He also mentioned all of his pitching coaches as well as Yankees vice president of domestic scouting Damon Oppenheimer, who drafted Cole in 2008, only for Cole to choose UCLA over the Yankees. I could go on because Cole did; you get the point.

This all matters because Cole has established long-term occupancy in a fish bowl that can be so very unforgiving. It can be awfully tough to persevere if you can’t see the forest for the trees. If you don’t appreciate that the boos attached to a bad start and standing ovation attached to a great start come as a joint package.

And boy oh boy, does Cole seem to get it; as he said, “Pressure is a privilege.” He emanated zero stress as he showed off his lighter side, swearing comfortably and sharing entertaining stories about a range of people from Boras to his Pirates catcher John Buck to CC Sabathia, whom he met as a high school senior and has kept as a friend ever since.

“It was ultimately my dream to be playing here,” Cole said, and he achieved it not only with his mound brilliance, but also with his conduct that led the Yankees to believe he can handle what’s coming.

The Post’s Joel Sherman wrote back in October, when the Mets searched for a new manager, that while a person need not necessarily be from New York to thrive here, he or should must be of New York. Cole, a Southern California native, sure as heck speaks and acts like he is of New York.

If it guarantees nothing, go ahead and get a little more excited. Cole doesn’t require a second chance to make a first impression, not after throwing the public-relations equivalent of a perfect game.

Ref;nypost.com