by Corey Collins, a 24-year-old with 90 professional baseball games under his belt, stepped into the box. Gerrit Cole, the 35-year-old six-time All-Star and 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner, toed the rubber.
Of course, there are going to be butterflies. That’s a Hall of Famer standing 60 feet and 6 inches away.
“It’s one of those feelings when you step in the box, you take a breath, and everything kind of calms down,” Collins said. “And it’s like, man, let’s just have fun.”
Cole, in the seventh year of a nine-year, $324 million contract with the New York Yankees, hasn’t pitched in an MLB game since October 30, 2024 — Game 5 of the World Series. He tore his UCL during spring training a few months later and underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2025, knocking him out for the entire season.
Thirteen months later, Cole is on his way back to the bigs. On April 22, he made a rehab start for the Hudson Valley Renegades. The Brooklyn Cyclones were in the other dugout.
“You don’t get this opportunity much, especially in Minor League ball,” Cyclones outfielder John Bay said. “It’s kind of surreal. You grow up playing MLB The Show using pitchers like Gerrit Cole. So, it’s excitement. There’s no pressure here. It’s an opportunity we’ll never forget, and hey, just get in the box and compete. Let’s go.”
Cole started his day by setting down the top three of Brooklyn’s lineup in order in the first. Collins, the cleanup hitter, led off the second with a pop-fly double that was, to be generous, aided by some miscommunication between Hudson Valley’s center and left fielders.
Still, it’s a double in the books.
Cole gave up singles to Heriberto Rincon and Antonio Jimenez in the next turn through the order before Collins stepped up to the plate again with one out and no one on in the fourth inning.
“I was just looking to get something up, and he went down with some spin,” Collins said. “Then he went up again, and his eyes lit up, and I was just a little bit early. So I just took the second out of the box, took a deep breath, reset, and he threw it up again, and just took my swing.”
Collins smacked it, sending a line drive over the right field wall to put the Cyclones on the board and pick up his second extra-base hit of the day.
“I tried to throw like four changeups in a row, just try to work on that,” Cole said. “And yeah, obviously he smoked it, so it was good feedback.”
Collins’ teammates retrieved the ball for him, and it’s one he’s going to keep.
“It’s not something I always do, but I mean, it is a cool experience, and I do want to enjoy it,” Collins said. “And these guys want me to enjoy it as well, so I’m going to.”
The Cyclones got another run off Cole in the fifth inning, stringing together a double from Yohairo Cuevas, a passed ball, and a sacrifice fly from Diego Mosquera on what turned out to be the final pitch thrown by the veteran.
It was not, however, the final pitch thrown by a former MLB All-Star for the Renegades that series. The very next day, Hudson Valley sent three-time Carlos Rodón to the mound for his rehab start.
The 33-year-old southpaw had a little more success than Cole, allowing just three baserunners over 4 and ⅓ innings. Mets 2025 first-round pick Mitch Voit singled to lead off the game and was later hit by a pitch, and Kevin Villavicencio drew a walk to knock Rodón out of the game in the fifth.
As Bay mentioned, though, they had nothing to lose.
“Playing with house money,” he said.
