Nestor Cortes believes he made baseball history Sunday when he might have invented the pitcher pump-fake.
But if he was the first to use the tactic, he also would be the last — or at least the last to get away with it.
Cortes was informed by MLB on Monday that his latest trick — in which he feigned a throw, waving his left arm at Cleveland’s Andres Gimenez before raising his knee and then continuing with an actual pitch — is not allowed.
Nestor Cortes broke out a funky move against Cleveland. Getty Images Home-plate umpire Mark Carlson allowed the deception, and Gimenez fouled the pitch off. But Cortes has been warned that it would be ruled illegal (and thus a ball would be added to the count) in the future.
Explore More
Cortes, who will make his fifth start of the season Saturday against the Rays in The Bronx, is a master of disrupting rhythm, frequently pausing his windup and using multiple knee-raises before delivering a pitch.
The pump-fake will have to be eliminated from his arsenal, though.
“I’m the only one that’s done it and the only one that will ever do it,” Cortes said with a laugh. “I’m in the [record] books!”
