There was a time when Nestor Cortes was scared to be himself.
That reality is a bit hard to believe when it comes to a New York Yankees pitcher best known for the idiosyncrasies he brings to the mound. Cortes is a contortionist who thrives on disruption, an oddity among the creatures of habit that baseball breeds.
A Cuban southpaw who changes his delivery at will, Cortes uses a variety of arm angles, leg kicks, hesitation moves and quick pitches. His bag of tricks made him an entertaining watch before his numbers warranted attention, yet he attempted to go mainstream when the Yankees first gave him a major league opportunity in 2019.