Destiny surprises everyone. This year it did that to the Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah. The 2022 finalist for the CY Young Award saw a steep fall in 2023. The team demoted him to the minor leagues due to his terrible performance. But an even bigger cause of disappointment came when the New York Yankees Ace Gerrit Cole won his first CY Young Award this year. It is known that Manoah and Cole have a less-than-amicable relationship after the former’s comments on the latter. 

What unfolded in Manoah’s journey this year, and what were the comments he made about Cole that stirred up controversy in the baseball community? It’s worth delving into the history of these two pitchers and exploring how the winds of fortune shifted for them within the span of a year.

The tough relationship between Alx Manoah and Gerrit Cole

MLB has enforced strong rules on pitchers using sticky substances to tighten their grip on the ball. The organization considered it to be conferring an unjust advantage to the pitchers. During an interview on Sportsnet, when asked about the biggest cheater in baseball, Manoah responded with the name Gerrit Cole. Manoah then said, “He used a lot of sticky stuff to make his pitches better, and he kinda got called out on it.”

Cole didn’t like it, and neither did the Yankees fans. Then the players famously had an interaction during a Yankee-Blue Jays game where Manoah accidentally hit Aaron Judge. However, now the fortunes have turned for Gerrit Cole, who won his first CY Young Award this Wednesday.

Manoah, on the other hand, is going through the worst period of his career. His demotion to the minor leagues was a shocking development for him. Though his performances merited the result, it was revealed that he’s going through a lot of problems. His shoulder was giving him slight trouble. In one game against the Houston Astros, he gave away 6 runs in one inning and only got one player out. This was a far cry from his 2022 performance. 

Still, with time and proper care, there’s little doubt to the fact that he’ll be back to his best in 2024. The pitcher is too talented to stay down. Yet this shows how baseball gods tend to surprise even the most savvy of people. Now, with Cole winning his first Cy Young Award, the Yankees are in a celebratory mood while rivals are saying this is not sustainable.

Cole’s Cy Young Award gets mixed opinions from fans

While the Bronx faithful are beyond thrilled to have finally found their 6th Cy Young winner, rival fans think otherwise. Although all of them agree that Cole was beyond amazing this season, they believe he won’t be able to sustain this form next season. Cole had outperformed in nearly every pitching metric, so a comedown would be understandable.

But the Yankee Nation has put forth a point that Cole has actually performed even better in the past. He had already achieved consistency when he played for the Houston Astros. So there won’t be much surprise if he carries on this form for a long time.

Read more – “Hope You’re Singing All the Harry Styles You Want Today”: Gerrit Cole Receives Special Message on Cy Young Award Win

Still, as fans have witnessed with Alek Manoah, things can take a left turn really quickly. Right now, though, Gerrit Cole is the man of the moment. Everything is going just right for the much-loved ace.

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