Alek Manoah described Gerrit Cole as the "worst cheater in baseball history,"

NBA player Serge Ibaka and Toronto Blue Jays star Alek Manoah were on the Sportsnet show “How hungry are you?” in November 2022. Ibaka questioned Manoah about the greatest cheater in MLB, which sparked hostilities between the two. Without hesitation, Manoah singled out New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, escalating the competition between the two pitchers and deepening the Blue Jays’ rivalry with the tough Yankee ballclub.

Manoah said Cloe; “He used a lot of sticky stuff to make his pitches better, and he kinda got called out on it,” an article from sportskeeda.com mentioned.

When Gerrit Cole led the Yankees onto the field in August, Alek Manoah didn’t back down, making a daring stand in the face of MLB’s crackdown on pitchers using illicit substances. His resolute confidence was demonstrated when he declared, “I said what I said” regarding his 2022 remarks about Cole, before the Blue Jays’ game against the Yankees in The Bronx later that year.

Gerrit Cole and his pitches

A wider discussion about the integrity of sports is highlighted by this scandal, which comes as the league steps up its efforts to combat sticky chemicals like “Spider Tack,” which pitchers like Gerrit Cole are allegedly using to improve their pitches.

Cole said “There are customs and practices that have been passed down from older players to younger players, from the last generation of players to this generation of players, and I think there are some things that are certainly out of bounds in that regard.” an article from sportskeeda.com mentioned.

Alek Manoah quick return

The Toronto Blue Jays enter 2024 with uncertainty following a difficult 2023 season that culminated in Alek Manoah’s minor league stint. Keen to see Manoah reach his full potential, manager John Schneider keeps in touch and arranges a critical encounter in Miami.

Schneider has the chance to take the lead throughout this meeting. The secret is to break through the exceptional form that Manoah showed throughout his 2022 All-Star campaign. The Blue Jays must decide how far below the surface they must go to regain success while keeping their current set of tools.