"Miami Heat in 6!!" - New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes is rooting for Miami Heat to clinch the NBA Eastern Conference Finals
New York Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr. is rooting for the Miami Heat to clinch the NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics. The Miami Heat dropped to 1-1 in the series after getting handily beaten by Boston 127-102. However, this did not stop Cortes Jr. from showing his love and support for the Heat on Twitter.
Miami Heat in 6!!
"Miami Heat in 6!!" - @ Netsor Cortes
Although born in Cuba, Cortes and his family relocated to Hialeah, Florida, a suburb just outside the city of Miami, making it likely that he would grow up a die-hard Miami Heat fan. Along with the Heat, Cortes also had tweets talking about the Miami Dolphins, so it is safe to say that he is a Miami sports fan. Some are saying that it is odd to see Cortes on Twitter shortly after he got exposed for old tweets that could be seen as insensitive and racist. Cortes apologized and deleted the problematic tweets earlier this week.
Nestor Cortes Jr.'s recent success in New York
As for the baseball diamond, Nestor Cortes Jr. has put up some crazy numbers so far for the New York Yankees. The southpaw currently has a 1.35 earned-run average with 49 strikeouts in 40 innings so far in New York. His ERA is the lowest in Major League Baseball as of right now, along with holding opposing hitters to a .164 batting average, the second lowest in baseball. With these numbers, Cortes is likely going to make his first career All-Star appearance, and if he keeps it up, he could be in the running for the American League Cy Young Award.
Despite being in the big leagues for only five seasons, this is already Nestor Cortes Jr.'s third stint with the Yankees. New York drafted the lefty out of high school in 2013 and after four years in the Yankees system, the Baltimore Orioles selected Cortes in the 2018 Rule 5 Draft. He was then returned to New York by Baltimore following the 2018 season, and spent the 2019 season in the pinstripes. However, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners after the 2019 season and spent the 2020 season in Seattle. After all of this, Cortes returned to New York, signing a deal in 2021, and it looks like he is here to stay in the pinstripes.
Nestor Cortes. Immaculate Inning. 😇 https://t.co/WTJLVwOXv5
"Nestor Cortes. Immaculate Inning." - @ Rob Friedman
Cortes Jr. and the New York Yankees are set to play against the Chicago White Sox this weekend, where they look to win their 10th series in a row.