“Whether I was getting paid what I’m getting paid, or playing for the team I’m playing for, I take the same approach every time I go out there,” said Cole, who will be caught in the opener by Kyle Higashioka and not Gary Sanchez. “I just go out and try to do my job.”

The Indians enter the playoffs playing their best ball with nine wins — several of them on walk-offs — in their last 11 games.

The Yankees, on the other hand, dropped six of eight.

None of that matters now. It’s the playoffs, and Indians All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor has been telling his younger teammates that there’s nothing like it.

“Enjoy the ride, boys,” he said when asked for his message. “This is the time to be famous.”

José Ramírez carried Cleveland to the finish line and himself to the front part of the MVP race.

Over his last 16 games, the versatile third baseman, who struts onto every field like he owns it, batted .416 with eight homers and 20 RBIs. His last 11 hits of the regular season went for extra bases.

Lindor knows what that kind of tear feels like.

“Unbeatable,” he said. “You feel like, anything they can throw, you’re gonna hit it and you’re gonna hit it hard. You see pitches early. You recognize pitches. You don’t skip that point of recognizing the pitch, which is the most important step of hitting. You have to load, separate, recognize the pitch and then pull the trigger.