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Blue Jays’ Alek Manoah calls Gerrit Cole biggest cheater in MLB history

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Photo credit:John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Thomas Hall
1 year ago
How hungry is Alek Manoah? The Toronto Blue Jays pitcher isn’t a fan of cricket tea, but he does enjoy giving it to the New York Yankees, especially Gerrit Cole, whenever possible.
Manoah appeared on the latest episode of Sportsnet’s “How Hungry are You?” with NBA star Serge Ibaka and was asked a series of questions by the former Toronto Raptor. And Mafuzzy Chef certainly didn’t hold back.
The 24-year-old first detailed the elements of baseball to Ibaka, explaining why a starting pitcher usually requires four days of rest between starts. But then the tea really started to spill – so to speak – when the Blue Jays hurler was asked, “Who’s the biggest cheater in baseball history?” Needing little time to respond, Manoah answered with Cole, who was heavily scrutinized for his previous use of foreign substances.
Before Major League Baseball began policing “sticky stuff” midway through the 2021 season, Cole was allegedly one of many pitchers using the illegal substance known as spider tack, which provides improved grip, allowing those same hurlers to increase the spin rates on their pitches.
Manoah also explained the confrontation involving Cole at Yankee Stadium from this past season, where the $324-million pitcher started yelling at his counterpart after Aaron Judge was hit by an inside fastball. Things never escalated any further between the two All-Stars, although that was because Cole didn’t cross the first-base foul line.
The 11th overall selection from 2019 made 31 starts in 2022, posting a 2.24 ERA and a 3.35 FIP across 196.2 innings. He finished as a finalist for the American League Cy Young Award while being worth a career-best 4.1 fWAR.
Toronto’s first series against New York next season will take place in the Bronx from Apr. 21-23.

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