Life threw a curveball at Nestor Cortes Jr.’s dad — and because of it, his son is now tossing curveballs in the major leagues.
Nestor Cortes Sr. attempted to flee Cuba in 1991 but “got caught in that process. So he went to jail,” Cortes, 28, told The Post ahead of Fathers’ Day.
Cortes Sr., his brother, and two cousins hired a boat to take them to a better life in America, but it never came. Word got out that they tried to leave and he was thrown in prison for attempted defection.
After he was released, he met his future wife, Yuslaidy.
The couple married in 1993 and Nestor was born in December 1994.
The Yankees pitcher stressed that if his dad hadn’t failed in his escape attempt, “I wouldn’t have been here saying this to you.”
Nestor Cortes Jr. started playing baseball with his dad at 4 years old. Courtesy Nestor Cortes, Jr.
When it comes to the hurler’s signature stash, he has his father, and fiancée, to thank for that. J.C. RiceIn 1995, his father won the visa lottery and the family legally immigrated, settling in Hialeah, Fla., when Nestor was seven months old.
Cortes Sr., 54, began playing baseball with his son when he was 4 and always made time for his practices despite a rigorous work schedule as a forklift operator.
“My dad always worked from 5 a.m. to 5 o’clock in the afternoon,” Cortes Jr. said. “So a 12-hour shift every day, Monday through Friday. And apart from all that, he was able to take me to baseball practice at 7 o’clock at night.”
Nestor Cortes Jr. with his parents, Nestor Sr. and Yuslaidy, and his fiancée Alondra Esteras Russy. Instagram nestorcortes12His mother was in charge when it came to discipline.
“I was more scared of my mom, but my dad always got me out of trouble. So it’s kind of like a balanced situation there,” he said, laughing.
When his parents come to the Big Apple to watch their son pitch, “it means everything,” Cortes Jr. said.
“Looking up at the board and seeing … fake mustaches and kids having fake mustaches. It’s kind of surreal for me,” the Yankees pitcher said. Robert Sabo for NY Post“They’re going to love you regardless of what happens out on the field,” said “Nasty Nestor,” a moniker he earned from his pitches’ high spin rate.
As for the hurler’s signature stash — fans pay homage to it by wearing fake mustaches — he has his father, and fiancée, to thank for that too.
“My dad actually used to have a mustache. I’ve seen pictures of him when he was in his early twenties. And now, I look at myself and I’m like, ‘Oh, we’re kind of alike,'” he said.
His fiancée, Alondra Esteras Russy, a bartender he met at a restaurant he frequented, made sure he didn’t shave it off.
“She’s actually the one that encouraged me to keep it on,” he said. “Cause she said that it could build a brand. And it kind of did.”
