Houston Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole, nicknamed Cole Train, has been named the Hickok Belt® Award winner for the month of September 2019. Voting was conducted by a select panel of members of the National Sports Media Association (NSMA). The voters selected Cole on his extraordinary pitching which led the Astros to the playoffs and to first place in their division of the American League. He is the eighteenth pitcher to strike out 14 or more hitters in three consecutive games. On September 18, his 29th birthday, Cole became only the second pitcher to strike out 14 or more hitters in three consecutive games. On September 24, he tied the MLB record of consecutive starts of at least ten strikeouts with eight. In the American League Division Series Game 2 against the Cleveland Indians, in a 3-1 win, Cole became the second pitcher in the post season to strike out at least 12 batters with no walks. Hall of Famer Tom Seaver was the only other player to accomplish this feat. Cole’s 2019 season is amazing, with a 20-5 record, a 39.9% strikeout percentage, the best in the majors, 326 strikeouts (again the best in the major leagues), and he led the majors with a 13.818 strikeouts per nine innings.
Other finalists for the month of September in order of how the NSMA ranked them included: Patrick Mahomes (football), Rafael Nadal (tennis), Bianca Andreescu (tennis), Alex Bregman (baseball), Tyson Fury (boxing), Christian McCaffery (football), Brent Suter (baseball), Kevin Harvick (auto racing), and Chris Godwin (football).
His selection as the Hickok Belt® Award winner for the month of September 2019 recognizes Gerrit Cole as “the best of the best” in professional sports for the month and makes him the ninth candidate eligible to receive the overall Hickok Belt® Award for 2019, joining Rory McIlroy, Novak Djokovic, Kawhi Leonard, Brooks Koepka, Tiger Woods, Kyle Busch, Julian Edelman, and Tom Brady.
To learn more about the Hickok Belt® Award and its history, visit www.hickokbelt.com.
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