Alek Manoah vs. Gerrit Cole: Which starting pitcher had a better season in 2022?

Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays and Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees are two of the top pitchers in the AL East, baseball's most famed division. In a recent interview, Manoah took a serious dig at Cole.

Speaking on the Canadian sports outlet Sportsnet, Manoah said the following about Cole.

Cole is "the worst cheater in history" stating that the Yankees ace “used a lot of sticky stuff to make his pitches better, and he kinda got called out on it.”

"Alek Manoah says Gerrit Cole is the biggest cheater in baseball history" - @ Talkin Yanks

The pair both had strong seasons in 2022 and hope to continue their success next season. Today, we will take a look at how the pair compare as we run down their stats from the season gone.

Firstly, Cole has considerably more baseball experience than Manoah. Cole, who is eight-and-a-half years older than Manoah made his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013. He started gaining notoriety after his 2015 season when he finished with an ERA of 2.60 and a record of 19-8.

By comparison, Manoah is only 24 years of age and made his debut for the Blue Jays in 2021, earning an ERA of 3.22 and a record of 9-2.

Over his decade-long career, Cole has led the league in many categories at one point or another. He led the MLB with 33 starts in 2017 and SO/9 in 2018 and 2019. Gerrit Cole's best season to date was 2019 when he led the league in strikeouts, ERA and ERA+. Cole finished just shy of the 2019 Cy Young Award, losing to Justin Verlander.

Over the course of their careers, Manoah presents slightly better numbers. Manoah's winning percentage is .735 with a career ERA of 2.60. Cole comes in with a career winning percentage of .647 and an ERA of 3.23. However, Cole has pitched a lot more. Gerrit Cole has 1,650 innings pitched under his belt; Manoah has just over 300.

"Alek Manoah is not a fan of Gerrit Cole." - @ The Score

In 2022, the two players measured up well. Cole finished the season with a record of 13-8, with an ERA of 3.50. Alek Manoah's 2022 numbers included an ERA of 2.24 and a record of 16-7. Interestingly, Cole gave up a league-worst 33 home runs while recording a league-best 257 strikeouts. By comparison, Manoah K'd only 180 batters in 2022.

The stage is set for a 2023 duel between Alek Manoah and Gerrit Cole

Manoah will have plenty of time to defend his strong accusations. As divisional rivals, the Jays and Yankees meet approximately 23 times per season. Although Manoah may have had a more standard season in 2022, Cole dealt more in extremes. The race is on to see who will prevail in 2023.