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Nestor Cortes thinks his mustache deserves a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“It’s a super power,” the New York Yankees left-hander said. “It came at the right time.”
For Cortes and his inner circle, his major league career is separated into two distinct periods: Before Mustache and After Mustache.
“Since he got the mustache, look at the numbers,” says Yankees area scout Carlos Marti, who signed Cortes. “It has powers.”
In the days before the mustache, Cortes dabbled with facial hair, wearing a goatee for a time and even a full beard. But he never found a footing in the majors: In his first three years, he pitched for three teams, posting a 6.72 ERA with a 1.709 WHIP in 42 games across 79 innings in the big leagues, striking out 9.1 batters per nine innings while walking 4.3. His confidence kept taking hits, too, particularly after the rebuilding Baltimore Orioles designated him for assignment in 2019, and again when he struggled with the Seattle Mariners in 2020.
But in May 2021, Cortes grew his now-distinctive facial hair — and also happened to supplement his arsenal of pitches. Since that transformation, Cortes has a 2.35 ERA with a 0.994 WHIP in 32 games across 153 innings, striking out 10.1 batters per nine while walking 2.3. It’s a turnaround that has the 27-year-old leading MLB with a 1.50 ERA heading into his start Wednesday night in Minnesota. He has posted 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings, making him the owner of the league’s 10th-best strikeout rate — even with its 10th-slowest fastball.
“It’s a special start to the season,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “He’s got a lot of things going for him, he’s got weapons and he can really pitch, but he’s got that Nestor savvy out there and it serves him well in whatever situation he has out there.”
The mustachioed Cortes has become a leading member of one of the best starting rotations in baseball, a Yankees staff that, along with perennial Cy Young Award candidate Gerrit Cole, has gotten…
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Source : espn
