Gerrit Cole

The Strait of Iran (Trump's words, not mine!) is OPEN for business, stocks are so green my head is SPINNING, and we've made it to another Friday. The libs are always cooked on Fridays, but this one in particular really has to be pissing them off. Are we back, or WHAT? Momentum is really rolling now. The weekend is here. We're all secretly cutting out early today. I may even go hit some golf balls this afternoon. Who has it better than us? Nobody. Not one single country. The US of A is firing on all cylinders on this day. Let's finish strong. Welcome to a Friday Nightcaps – the one where Paige Spiranac finds herself back on the cover of Maxim just in time for the RBC Heritage. What else? I've got the best of the rest from a loaded week of #content, Lauren Boebert has a question for everyone, and Kay Adams continues to wear the crown while all of her peers bicker like teenagers! That's our girl. This is how it's done. Take notes!Grab you whatever your heart desires – it's a Friday, after all – and settle in for an end-of-the-week 'Cap!Let's switch things up a bit today. I'm in a decent mood because my kids might be able to afford college again, so why not? This 12U homer has been all the talk this week. We first dove in on Wednesday, and then again yesterday. For those who skipped the past two days, here it is:Everyone and their mother is outraged at this clip, and I get it. Go-pro on the helmet. Slamming the bat. Camera crew following him around. It's an absurd scene. I've maintained all week that the easiest solution is just drilling the kid. Most of you agreed, which doesn't surprise me because you're all smart. It's why I teach the advanced class. From Eric P:It reminds me of a 12U basketball game when I was coaching an undersized team that was undefeated and playing up. The other team kept knocking our players around, so I walked to the other coach during the game and said that if it didn’t stop, we would out score them 60-0 the rest of the game and not let up.  He couldn’t believe it and despite the fouls slowing down, we still decided to outscore them 48-4 the rest of the way. Our parents were laughing because they knew what I said.. the other parents were not so happy with me.. One of the best days of my coaching career. From Allen K:When I was 11 years old (51 years ago) I was leading off first base.  The pitcher made a move to pick me off.  I was so sure he balked I didn’t even bother trying to get back to first base.  I was tagged standing still waiting to hear the balk called.  Instead I was called out.  I started to argue and heard my dad’s booming voice "shut up and sit down boy!"  I shut up, sat down and never pulled another move like that again.And, from Fred T:I believe a conversation with the coach and parents, along with an apology, would be a better starting point. If that does not resolve the issue, then a ball on his back would be warranted.No, that clip has nothing to do with the 12U kid, but we had benches clear at the end of a game yesterday, so I figured that was as good a spot as any to use it. Anyway, back to the drama … we've got a pretty major update to the viral homer, courtesy of an OutKick source!From Ryan V:One thing that might be important to note is that this happened at a PG Tournament in Sanford this weekend where 2 "influencer" teams played.  The clip in question is a clip from cs99tv's Pottstown team.  They literally put together a team of the best 13-year-olds who have reclassified to play in 12U and go out and dominate a tournament never to play together again.  They bring in a special influencer coach for the weekend which helps to attract kids hoping to be given a bat or a sliding mitt as they have seen them do in countless clips online.  The cameras on the helmets and cameramen are to capture content so they can post clips online, which will provide them enough contact to keep the money rolling in. I would expect that these kids are being told to ham it up for clips because, let's be honest, watching a guy hit a nuke and run the bases isn't going to get as many clicks as what you see in this video.  Wow! What a twist. Did you guys know "influencer teams" existed? Did you know "influencer" coaches existed? Is this happening all over the country? If this is true, and I have no reason to doubt Ryan V., then it just makes this whole thing that much worse. Social media really has been our downfall, hasn't it? Obviously, it keeps me in a job. I can only be so mad at it, given this class is built on viral social media clips. But still, it's just so insufferable. We now live in an age of influencer travel ball teams. We're just creating a pipeline for the Savannah Bananas, which is another thing that has run its course. Disgusting. OK, we've done a ton of talking today. Let's go back to social media and get to the best #content from a big week!A true mixed bag of #content this week, but I think you all weaved it in and out beautifully. Well done. Couple thoughts …1. Lauren Boebert asking why congress is so horny is PEAK stuff for 2026. Asking that after what happened in 2023 also took some serious nuts. Nicely done. 2. Welcome back to class, Kay! No drama with our queen. Just #content. 3. How great was it to hear Joe Buck call baseball again? Remember when everyone hated him back in the day? Boy, were we wrong. 4. Happy 74th birthday to Bill Belichick! 5. Junction Boys! There's a name I haven't heard in quite some time. Remember Junction Boys on ESPN? An all-time movie:Amazing. I can't believe it's been 23 years. Goodness. Speaking of things on the TV … let's rapid-fire this Friday class into a big weekend. First up? Here's your yearly PSA that the best TV series currently on right now returns this Sunday night. If you haven't been watching From, now is your chance to hop on board:It's the best show on TV, and it's not particularly close. Even Hookstead loves it, and it has nothing to do with war! Do you know how hard it is to keep Hookstead's interest in something other than our military? Anyway, the second-to-final season starts this weekend. I rarely get excited about anything on TV anymore because it's all crap, but this one is a winner. I promise. You're welcome. Next? Let's check in on Yankees fans as the team stumbles through a 3-7 stretch of baseball!Yes! This is what I'm talking about. At least Gerritt Cole is doing something for his team this season! The MLB season is starting to heat up. Let's get AFTER it this weekend. OK, that's it for today – and this week. Good work, everyone. It ain't Augusta, but the RBC Heritage is this weekend for those interested. Take us home, Paige!OutKick Nightcaps is a daily column set to run Monday through Friday at 4 p.m. (roughly, we’re not robots).Do influencer teams really exist? Email me at [email protected].