Yanks' Cole learns safety-protocol lesson in 1st intrasquad

NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole couldn't have expected the New York Yankees to take the ball away from him just one batter into his first home start in the Bronx.

But the team's new $324 million ace learned the hard way about one of baseball’s new coronavirus safety protocols Tuesday night during an intrasquad game at Yankee Stadium.

Cole allowed a home run to the second hitter he faced, Miguel Andújar, one pitch after being forced to give up the ball he used to strike out leadoff man Mike Tauchman.

“I liked that ball,” Cole grumbled on the mound.

Among the safety steps instituted by Major League Baseball for this virus-shortened season is that pitchers can’t reuse a baseball once it has been touched by other players. After Cole struck out Tauchman swinging, catcher Gary Sánchez whipped the ball around the infield — a customary ritual that’s frowned upon in MLB’s 2020 operations manual.

Cole shot the dugout a confused look when coaches called for the ball. Andújar crushed the next pitch into the empty right field seats.

“We weren’t exactly sure if we were supposed to keep it or not,” Cole said. “We kind of made a joke about it. Looked like I probably should have kept it.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the club is still trying to nail down some of the protocols in MLB's 101-page manual — one reason the team is scheduling so many of these intrasquads early in preseason camp. He said he wasn't sure if Sánchez was supposed to throw the ball around the infield or if umpires would make them throw out the baseball during the regular season if he did.

“I have to get to the bottom of that," Boone said.

Otherwise, Cole’s first time toeing the Yankee Stadium rubber in pinstripes went smoothly.

Cole faced a Yankees B team in an intrasquad game...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Yanks-Cole-learns-safety-protocol-lesson-in-1st-15392867.php