Nestor Cortes returns to Yankee Stadium with a new look and mostly fond memories

Nestor Cortes understands that his lasting memories of October will follow him to Milwaukee and wherever else.

He threw a regrettable pitch to Freddie Freeman, and his then-teammates made several regrettable plays that could not be overcome. 

“The way it ended, I think it’s going to be something that not only them but myself have to live with. Obviously, it didn’t go the way that we wanted to,” said Cortes, who also understands that the World Series loss to the Dodgers was a blip in a bright Yankees tenure. “But overall, the … four and a half years I was in the big leagues with the Yankees, I can take a lot of positives. Thinking back on how my career was there, they watched me grow up. I became who I became with the Yankees. 

“Ten, 20, 30 years down the line, I can talk about how good the experience was here and how happy I was and how successful this team was every year.” 

Cortes spoke Thursday from a visiting clubhouse he had not seen since April 2018, when he was a short-lived member of the Orioles as a Rule 5 pick.

His Opening Day experience this year was “a little weird,” he allowed, stepping off the Brewers team bus and not knowing which way to go as a visitor.