Warren Spahn once said: “Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing.” So we think Spahn would appreciate the ridiculous mid-windup tomfoolery Yankees lefty Nestor Cortes busted out Wednesday night against Rafael Devers at Fenway Park during New York’s 5-3 win.
Devers, as you are probably well aware, is a very good hitter. This is especially true when he’s playing in the storied Rivalry, as he entered Wednesday night with 19 home runs — remember this one — against New York during his career. Cortes, who of course is also aware of Devers’ skills as a hitter, turned to what YES broadcaster David Cone dubbed “improv theater” with a 2-2 count in the fourth inning of a scoreless game.
Cortes started his windup as usual, went to his usual leg kick, then — Cone called it a “dipsy doodle,” so we’ll say he dipsy doodled — before delivering a fastball on the outside of the plate. Devers, clearly flummoxed, flailed at the ball with his bat but came nowhere close and headed back to the bench after striking out.
Now, this was not the first time Cortes has gotten a bit weird with his delivery on the mound. Just ask Shohei Ohtani, who last year couldn’t keep from laughing when Cortes started doing whatever this was in the video below:
Pitching is an art form, people!