Gerrit Cole becomes first No. 1 draft pick from UCLA
Gerrit Cole was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in Monday’s Major League Baseball draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates after three seasons at UCLA. Cole is the first No. 1 overall pick in UCLA baseball history.
By Daily Bruin Staff
June 6, 2011 5:25 p.m.
Many experts questioned Gerrit Cole’s decision to turn down the New York Yankees and go to UCLA when he was selected as the No. 28 pick in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.
Now Cole looks like the expert, as he became the first Bruin to be selected as the No. 1 overall pick in Monday’s 2011 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“I feel like it was the correct decision,” Cole said of coming to UCLA. “I wanted to be a Bruin and go to the College World Series and win the Pac-10. We really wanted to instill a new tradition. I have no regrets. I enjoyed my time there, and I enjoyed school.”
Cole leaves UCLA at No. 2 on the all-time strikeout list after three years as coach John Savage’s Friday-night starter. Although his junior year was his worst statistically, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington isn’t worried.
“If we were focused on taking the player who performed the best this year, there might have been other options,” Huntington said. “Our focus is selecting the best player for our organization down the line. He’s maturing into something pretty good.”
Now Cole and the Pirates will play the contractual waiting game, as is common with top-flight draft picks. The Pirates have until Aug. 16 to ink Cole to a deal.
Cole is represented by highbrow MLB agent Scott Boras, who also represents the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Jayson Werth and Barry Zito, as well as two previous No. 1 overall picks, Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg.
“Signability is an issue with every player that comes off the board in the first round,” Huntington said. “We believe that at the end of the day, we’ll get a deal done because it’s the right thing to do, and we think Gerrit wants to pitch.”
“I really have no expectations going into that situation,” Cole added. “I’m going to let Pittsburgh do their evaluation. You want the business side to go as smoothly as possible, but it will eventually take care of itself.”
Savage, who doubles as UCLA’s pitching coach, said he was pleased to see Cole’s decision pay off after watching him mature during his time in Westwood.
“I think the difference between Gerrit then and Gerrit now is he knows how to deal with the nuances of the game,” Savage said.
