Cole's core point

2019 was a breakout year for Gerrit Cole, a 20-win season with 326 strikeouts (most in the league), while ERA was only 2.50 that led in the American League. Finishing 2^nd in the Cy Young voting, Gerrit Cole agreed to a deal with the New York Yankees, the deal that made his contract the largest signed by a pitcher.

A baseball player makes some adjustments year by year, so does Cole. What did he do in 2019? Were there any huge differences in? Well, from “points of view”, yes. Overall, the release points of Cole’s key weapons (4-seamer, slider and knuckle curve) are basically at the same height (from the ground). Compared with 4-seamer, the release point of his sinker is 0.1 ft lower and the changeup is 0.2 ft lower. However, his release point with the Astros is higher than his release point when he was with the Pirates. In 2019, his average release points of each pitch were the highest in past 5 years. In comparison with 2018 season, the 0.2 ft difference probably made Cole even more unhittable. It was also interesting to note that his release point of sinker was higher than that of fastball in 2015 when he was in Pittsburgh.

Vertical Release Point (ft.)

	4-Seamer	Slider	Knuckle Curve	Changeup	Sinker
2015(PIT)	5.70	5.63	5.70	5.55	5.77
2016(PIT)	5.63	5.58	5.56	5.46	5.56
2017(PIT)	5.49	5.40	5.41	5.28	5.37
2018(HOU)	5.66	5.56	5.61	5.38	5.54
2019(HOU)	5.85	5.87	5.89	5.63	5.79

Cole’s 4-seamer horizontal release point was from -2.62 to -2.02. That’s 0.6ft difference, thus, it’s closer to be like overhead. Combing the information of Vertical release point, we can say that Cole’s release point is slightly higher during his Astro time.
  

Horizontal Release Point (ft.)

	4-Seamer	Slider	Knuckle Curve	Changeup	Sinker
2015(PIT)	-2.62	-2.74	-2.48	-2.61	-2.38
2016(PIT)	-2.31	-2.37	-2.34	-2.31	-2.32
2017(PIT)	-2.41	-2.54	-2.45	-2.49	-2.48
2018(HOU)	-2.20	-2.34	-2.26	-2.28	-2.26
2019(HOU)	-2.02	-2.05	-2.02	-2.07	-2.11

Cole’s extension of 4-seamer, Changeup and sinker is almost the same. However, when throwing other two weapons, Slider and Knuckle Curve, Cole’s extensions of these two pitches are shorter.

Extension (ft.)

	4-Seamer	Slider	Knuckle Curve	Changeup	Sinker
2015(PIT)	6.3	6.0	5.9	6.5	6.3
2016(PIT)	6.2	5.9	5.9	6.3	6.2
2017(PIT)	6.2	5.9	5.8	6.3	6.3
2018(HOU)	6.2	5.9	5.7	6.4	6.2
2019(HOU)	6.3	5.9	5.7	6.4	6.3

2019 was an unforgettable season for Cole, it was definitely his best year of his career so far. From “points of view’, the adjustments he made after joining the Astros made him from a good pitcher to an excellent pitcher. Release point is just one element of Cole’s great season in 2019, but the consistent adjustment is the key element of baseball. Well, we are still waiting for the 2020 season and would like to see Cole’s impact to his childhood dream team.