Report: Gerrit Cole Impressed by Yankees’ ‘30-Pound-ish Contraption’

I must see the contraption!

The Yankees pulled off the biggest move of an action-packed Winter Meetings, signing the best free agent available—pitcher Gerrit Cole—to a record-breaking deal. But how?
Obviously the money was a big factor (nine years, $324 million) but the Yankees also had an effective recruiting pitch, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman.
Cole, whose Syracuse-born father raised him as a Yankees fan in California, was “moved” by a sales pitch from legendary pitcher Andy Pettitte, Sherman writes, and also impressed by a mysterious “contraption” club officials presented to him during the recruiting process.
“The Yankees provided Cole one of their favorite toys,” Sherman wrote, “a 30-pound-ish contraption shaped like home plate with a giant interlocking “NY” that when opened reveals a facsimile of Yankee Stadium, with an iPad in the middle that contains pretty much every question you would have about the franchise — from breakdowns of all 27 championship teams to where to live and have your kids go to school, etc. Again, Cole and his wife were impressed.”
I have to know more about this “contraption.” The description makes it sound like just a model of Yankee Stadium with an info-packed iPad inside. But the size of it (30 pounds!) and the “contraption” phrasing make it sound like something more complex. Does it play “New York, New York” when you open the lid? Is there a tiny model of the 4 train running outside the stadium?
And who gets to see the contraption? Do they only pull it out for the big targets or did a guy like Adam Ottavino get to see it before signing a three-year deal? Do you get to keep it after the presentation?
I guess I’ll never get to see it for myself, because I can’t throw a 98 mph fastball.
Ouch!
Reffing a game can be more dangerous than you think, as Lewis Garrison found out the hard way last night.
Garrison was calling the Illinois-Michigan game in Champaign when he was inadvertently punched in the head by an over-exuberant Kofi Cockburn.
Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn accidentally elbows Referee Lewis Garrison. Ouch.
— CollegeBB News (@CollegeBBNCAA) December 12, 2019
pic.twitter.com/qEWBxlT2YC
Cockburn is 7 feet tall, 290 pounds, so that can’t have felt good. Garrison was taken to an emergency room as a precaution. Let’s hope he’s alright.
The best of SI
Baylor’s Matt Rhule is probably jumping to the NFL next year, but where? ... The first NBA draft Big Board is out, with Georgia’s Anthony Edwards at the top. ... The AAC is stuck serving as a farm system for coaches to jump to bigger schools.
Around the sports world
ESPN is reportedly interested in hiring Curtis Granderson as an in-game analyst. ... A scientific study commissioned by MLB had some interesting findings about how the baseballs differ. ... Drew Magary profiled Stephen A. Smith for GQ.
Toronto still loves Kawhi
Ja Morant embarrassed Aron Baynes
They’re gonna get all the dirt
Rob Manfred says the #Astros cheating scandal is the biggest investigation the Commissioner’s office has undertaken, interviewing 60 people and examining 76,000 emails
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 11, 2019
This needs to happen
Meanwhile, back in the Dominican Republic, Bartolo Colon, 46, is still chasing the big league dream. He still wants to pitch. #MLBWinterMeetings pic.twitter.com/iotLaFsc6T
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) December 11, 2019
The cops let Darnell Dockett off with a warning because he wanted the Cardinals to beat the Eagles
Untold Stories Episode 8 with Darnell Dockett
— Master (@MasterTes) December 11, 2019
Darnell Dockett was on the run from the police.
He explains how an ATV chase nearly led to his arrest...two days before the Cardinals’ 2009 NFC title game vs. the Eagles.
pic.twitter.com/TNFqBpr3gQ
Most highlights can be improved this way
Comme à NHL 95. 🎮
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 11, 2019
Straight outta NHL 95.
#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ZCmKd1NTdR
I didn’t know sumo wrestlers could be this skinny
This is Hattorizakura, the worst rikishi in sumo history. His career record after last month's basho is 3-172-1. https://t.co/FWZ6bAuk2M https://t.co/VjUL5c3LZK
— Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) December 11, 2019
He’s a hockey player, not a mathematician
Bruins’ Brett Ritchie: “It’s an 82-game season. We weren’t going to go 80-3 or whatever it was.”
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) December 11, 2019
Not sports
A Michigan man who sawed off his thumb had it replaced with one of his toes. ... A squirrel stole somebody’s Amazon package off their porch. ... Archaeologists in Indonesia discovered the oldest known cave paintings, 44,000 years old.
Turning a log into a coffee mug
“Do I have a Christmas movie?”
Jack Black forgot he was in a holiday movie for a second there pic.twitter.com/b6KdWR1hXY
— Variety (@Variety) December 10, 2019
Alexa for rednecks
Daniel Radcliffe in a prison break movie? Sign me up
A good song
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