MLB Should Ban Yankees Pitcher Nestor Cortes From Using Literal Pump Fake During Funky Windup

Nestor Cortes, the New York Yankees pitcher, is arguably best remembered for his bizarre antics on the mound.

The 5-foot-11 lefty frequently uses hitches and giddy-ups during his windup to throw hitters off his timing and delivery.

What he did on Sunday may be illegal activity.

Cortes performed a real pump fake against the Cleveland Guardians. Major League Baseball may (and should) act fast to remove the maneuver from the game.

While the novelty of what Cortes does on the bump is fun and usually effective, he backs it up with some ugly stuff. Combining the two is extremely frustrating for opposing batters.

Timing is one method he employs to keep hitters uncomfortable. Cortes will occasionally accelerate or slow things down to create an imbalance in their expectations.

Batters never know what to expect—or, perhaps more significantly, when.

Then there is the artistic aspect. Cortes will whip his leg around or change the height of his kick to confuse the hitter’s head. It can get really bizarre.

Although it appears odd and illegal, it is completely legal. Cortes begins his windup legally, never stops moving, and continues to do so throughout his delivery.

Love it or hate it, there’s nothing unlawful about it, and it usually works. There is no issue here.

His actions on Sunday were unprecedented. Cortes found yet another vulnerability that allows him to do a pump fake during his quirky windup.

NEW NESTOR CORTES MOVE UNLOCKED! pic.twitter.com/d90G8iQwAC

— MLB (@MLB) April 14, 2024

This specific action could be a step too far. There is no need to enable pump fakes.

They are currently lawful (or perhaps better phrased as not illegal), thus Nestor Cortes did nothing wrong. However, MLB should fix that loophole before every pitcher in the league starts using a pump fake in their pitching actions!