Minnesota Twins color commentator Jim Kaat took heat on Thursday for giving Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes a new nickname: “Nestor the Molester.”
The 83-year-old broadcaster blurted out the nickname after Cortes struck out Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera, according to Outkick.
“That favorite pitcher… ‘Nestor the Molester,’ Nestor Cortes. Man, he is fun to watch,” Kaat said during a discussion of MLB pitchers.
Certainly, Kaat meant it as a fun compliment, as in Cortes having the ability to out-pitch opposing batters. But some took offense to the nickname.
Kaat later apologized for using the term, saying, “I need to read this right now. Because, earlier in the game when Yoan Moncada was at the plate, in an attempt to compliment the great player that he is, I used a poor choice of words that resulted in an insensitive and hurtful remark. And I’m sorry for that.”
Apparently, Cortes wasn’t offended, but he also was not too keen to adopt the nickname.
“I’m sure, you know, he didn’t really mean it, and people make mistakes, but it didn’t offend me at all. So, you know, I don’t really have anything more than just that, honestly,” Cortes reportedly said, according to the Associated Press.
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