OCVarsity Voice: HS career over, Gerrit Cole's future still bright as ever

If you like baseball, live in Orange County and never took the opportunity to watch Gerrit Cole (see stats) pitch, you screwed up. And you screwed up bad.

I almost made that mistake, nearly opting to cover the Mater Dei-Los Alamitos quarterfinal last week, because Los Al is a shorter drive from my apartment. I had seen Cole earlier in the week, when he finished off El Modena with a two-out save. But that only provided a glimpse.

So, on Friday, I fought the traffic to Hart Park and enjoyed Cole's final masterpiece at Orange Lutheran. He struck out 11, walked none and did not allow an earned run. The Lancers lost to Norco, 1-0.

The list of millionaire athletes to emerge from this county is long. But watching Matt Leinart in high school -  or even great hitters like Phil Nevin and Jeff Kent -  is far different from watching a pitcher like Gerrit Cole.

At El Modena, Cole blew away the Vanguards' cleanup hitter, Wes Calvert, with a 98-mph rising fastball. It's a pitch that Frankie Rodriguez would have been proud to throw to Manny Ramirez.

I turned to one of the nearby Major League scouts and said, "It must be easier to scout pitchers than hitters."

His reply: "Of course."

The same way a recreational golfer can step onto the tee, hit the shot of his life and realize that a pro would have been happy with the same result, a pitcher like Cole can throw multiple Major League-caliber pitchers each outing.

Coaches can teach someone how to throw a changeup. And they can try to teach someone how to hit a curveball. But they'll never teach anyone how to throw 98 miles per hour.

That's the beauty of paying nothing to watch a talent like Cole up close.

I'm sure Leinart, Nevin and Kent provided some awe-inspiring moments for OC high school sports fans. But their successes fed off opponents who were nowhere near their talent level. To a great extent, Cole's .463 ERA did, too.

But last week, I saw him throw several pitches that would have looked good off any Major League mound. If he proves to be good enough, that's probably where you'll see him next.

I can promise it won't be free.

(Click to see more stats and stories about Cole)

Contact the writer: jkay@ocregister.com