Ex-Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes admits Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in World Series Game 1 still haunts him

Nestor Cortes claimed that he was having trouble sleeping at night after Freddie Freeman's walk-off slam against him in World Series Game 1.

Ex-Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes admits Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in World Series Game 1 still haunts him

Nestor Cortes and Freddie Freeman (Image via NY Post/MLB)

The 2024 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees produced some great moments. One of them was the iconic walk-off grand slam of Freddie Freeman against Nestor Cortes in Game 1. The former Yankees pitcher has admitted that he is still haunted by that moment.

In the first game of this huge series, the two teams were tied at 2-2 after nine innings. This meant that the first game of this series needed extra innings to separate both of them.

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The Yankees found themselves in the lead through an RBI single from Anthony Volpe in the 10th inning. In the bottom of the innings, they were able to get Shohei Ohtani out of the game and reduce their opponents down to their last out.

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Yankees manager Aaron Boone would then insert Nestor Cortes in the game. The pitcher had not pitched in a while due to an injury. On his first pitch, the team would intentionally walk Mookie Betts and load up the bases for Freddie Freeman.

Up until that moment, Freeman had been struggling on the plate. An ankle injury had been causing him issues. What happened next was something that will go down as one of the iconic moments in World Series history.

Freeman would hit a walk-off grand slam off Cortes’ second pitch of the game to win the game 6-3 for the Dodgers. The team then went on to outclass their opponents 4-1 in 5 games to win the Series. Cortes has now looked back at the moment and “hates” what happened.

I hate how it happened. Trust me, I (wasn’t) able to sleep after that, just because I replayed it in my head every single time. I guess he was on the right side of the baseball where he hit the home run. But it could have been a pop-up, it could have been a ground ball, it could have been a fly ball. There were so many outcomes with that pitch.

Nestor Cortes said as per The Athletic

If Freddie Freeman had popped out that pitch, the Dodgers would have lost that game. Cortes believes that they had done enough to win that game.

Following the end of the season, Cortes was traded away by the Yankees to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Devin Williams. If that moment did not happen, Cortes could have still been on the Yankees team.

Nestor Cortes claims NY Yankees were the better team than the LA Dodgers in 2024 World Series

The Los Angeles Dodgers outclassed the New York Yankees in the 2024 World Series. In almost every department, they were a few steps ahead of their opponents. However, Nestor Cortes believes that the Yankees were the better team in this matchup.

Nestor Cortes
Nestor Cortes (Image via X)

Following the Yankees’ defeat, several Dodgers players took a swipe at them. Joe Kelly, who missed the offseason due to an injury, claimed that the Yankees were the 8th or 9th best team in the league.

Cortes though does not believe that. While he admitted that his team slipped up, he believes they were better than the National League side in the Fall Classic.

People can say we made a lot of mistakes, which we did. But at the end of the day, we were the better team. I see it that way, and I’m sure everybody in that clubhouse sees it that way.

Nestor Cortes said as per The Athletic

Game 5 of the World Series was one that exposed the defensive problems of the Yankees. After a dropped catch by captain Aaron Judge in the center field, the Yankees made some poor plays in the field that allowed the Dodgers to come back from 5-0 down to level the game at 5-5. They then went on to win the series by winning the game 7-6.

Cortes will now try to move on and look forward to the upcoming season. The 30-year-old is embracing his new home – the Milwaukee Brewers and will try to help them reach the postseason again.