Nestor Cortes has become a favorite of Yankees fans
Nestor Cortes #65 of the Yankees pitches during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, Apr. 12, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
If you are a devotee of Opening Day pregame player introductions (as I am), and happened to be paying attention as the Yankees were introduced on Friday in the Bronx, did you notice who got as large an ovation as Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole and the team’s other stars?
Nestor Cortes, that’s who.
Cortes, who made his first start of the season on Tuesday night, certainly noticed. And appreciated it.
“It felt really good,” Cortes said. “I wasn’t expecting, obviously, an ovation.”
He got another one on Tuesday after throwing 4 1/3 shutout innings against the Blue Jays. Cortes allowed three hits, did not walk a batter and struck out five.
Cortes was lifted after 72 pitches following a double by Matt Chapman with the Yankees leading 3-0, making him ineligible for a potential victory. The hook was understandable, as Cortes threw a total of 62 pitches in two spring training outings.
What is it about Cortes that has made him so popular with Yankees fans?
Is it his unorthodox delivery in which no two pitches seem to come from the same body position or arm angle?
Is it the mustache? Because Cortes has one heck of a ‘stache. Is it unofficial team mascot Bronxie the Turtle, who Cortes introduced into Yankee lore last season?
Maybe it’s all of that. Plus the fact that the Cuban-born, Florida-raised Cortes became a reliable starter for the Yankees in the second half of last season.
“I think he’s a better-conditioned athlete, which as a result has sharpened up his stuff,” Boone said. “He’s got way better stuff and way better weapons than, I think, the perception.”
I asked two people for an opinion on why Yankee fans love Cortes, starting with the 27-year-old lefthander himself.
“I think a lot of people can maybe relate to who I am as a player,” Cortes said on the eve of his first outing. “Being 5-10, not throwing very hard. I feel like a lot of young kids, a lot of people that play baseball, can relate to, ‘You don’t have to be 6-5 and throw 100 to be a big leaguer.’ That’s what I aim for, too, to show the world that it can be done different ways.”
The other person is Andrew Mearns, the managing editor of SB Nation’s popular website/blog Pinstripe Alley. He wrote in an e-mail that Cortes “is just a fun pitcher to watch . . . Cortes gets the job done through a combination of different pitches, arm angles, and deliveries, and even though he had one of the slowest average fastballs in the league last year, batters struggled to make hard contact against him. His success is a remarkable result of his pure guile on the mound, and the fact that he seems to be a beloved member of the clubhouse is just the cherry on top. The Yankees' roster is sometimes lacking in personality, but no one could make the accusation that Cortes is just another guy.”
That guile was on display in the first inning on Tuesday against the power-laden Blue Jays. After George Springer led with a double, Cortes struck out Bo Bichette.
Springer then stole third, but Cortes dropped down sidearm on 3-and-2 and caught Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looking at a 92-mph fastball before getting Teoscar Hernandez to fly to center to strand the runner.
Cortes is in his third stint with the organization after getting selected in the 36th round of the 2013 draft and appearing in 33 games (without a mustache or a defined role) for the Yankees in 2019, going 5-1 with a 5.67 ERA.
The Yankees let him go twice – including trading him to Seattle for international bonus slot money after the 2019 season – but re-signed him in January 2021 after he was released by the Mariners.
Cortes was called up last May 30 and truly arrived, going 2-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 22 appearances with 103 Ks in 93 innings. Tuesday’s outing was more of the same.
“He’s just had to work and fight and scrap for everything,” Boone said. “He’s had to learn a lot at this level.”
The Yankees have learned to appreciate him, too. Just like the fans.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
