MLB Fans Battle Over Nestor Cortes' Wild Pitching Motion

We've all been baffled by what constitutes a balk in baseball. A pitcher's leeway for ‘disengagement’ and the rules to govern these "balks" can lead to unending debates among MLB fans.

New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes is sparking a debate on what constitutes a "balk" after using a playful pitching motion. "Nasty" Nestor is known for sometimes swinging his lead leg repeatedly before releasing his pitch. 

Cortes revved up his signature motion Sunday, starting against the Cleveland Guardians. Swinging his leg and missing the mound by a hair, Cortes threw a pump fake against Andre Giminez, then made an actual throwing motion, unlocking the double pump fake. Gimenez hit the foul ball.

Is it considered a twitch? And is the move intentionally deceptive against a batter, in the same fashion as a balk?

Cortes is poking at a loophole in the "balk" rule, and fans are perplexed.

IS THIS A BALK BY NESTOR? WATCH:

A balk is defined by MLB as "an illegal motion on the mound that the umpire deems to be deceitful to the runner(s)."

The motion made MLB fans take to social media and call for a balk against Cortes.

Umps had to look the other way since Cortes didn't have a runner on base and seemingly didn't plant that swinging leg.

Social media, as expected, couldn't reach a consensus on whether the move is or is not considered a balk.

In a losing effort Sunday, Yankees fans may soon be holding Nestor's feet to the fire and challenging their starter to ease off the funky moves and start fanning batters.

CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 14: Starting pitcher Nestor Cortes #65 of the New York Yankees pitches during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on April 14, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

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