PHILADELPHIA — First, Francisco Cervelli starts singing whatever song is running through his head that day. Then, he'll walk casually between Ivan Nova and whomever he's playing catch with in the outfield. Once the two men enter the bullpen at whichever ballpark the Pirates are playing, Cervelli will routinely drop a few pitches during warmups, too. And there's the smiling.
That begins during warmups and continues throughout a game. The sight of Cervelli's smirk through his catcher's mask can enrage Nova. All of Cervelli's antics have that effect, and the Pirates' catcher only uses them with Nova. Since the Pirates acquired Nova in August 2016, Cervelli has made it his mission to anger his longtime friend before each of his starts.
He'll talk trash to Nova in the dugout. He'll walk out to the mound and yell at him. It's not unusual for a catcher to use different techniques to try to get the most out of a pitcher; however, their unique relationship began 13 years ago on the back fields of the Yankees' academy in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, and it's blossomed since they reunited in Pittsburgh.
"It’s special," Nova said, "because of the time we spent together. Where we came from. What we went through. We went through a lot in New York. We’re finally established and get to play now the way you dream about playing the game. Just enjoying it. You’re not worrying so much. It’s special to have him on my side."
Nova, raised in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic, signed with the Yankees as a 17-year-old in July 2004. He received a $45,000 signing bonus and reported to the team's academy in Boca Chica, where he met a goofball Venezuelan named Francisco Cervelli.
Cervelli was an infielder learning to become a catcher and had a bizarre batting stance that was the butt of jokes among the 70-plus players competing against each other for one of only a few visas given out each year.
Nova was told he'd receive one upon signing his contract, only to find out the Yankees gave the spot to another prospect. He was determined to separate himself from pitchers who threw harder or had more refined breaking pitches on their Dominican Summer League team. Cervelli, meanwhile, was trying to develop a rapport with pitchers from different countries, including Nova.
"It was my first time leaving my country," Cervelli said. "The culture and everything hits in your head a little bit and you don’t feel comfortable in the beginning. When you grow, you start knowing a little bit and there’s other people in the world who are different and there’s different ways to think. … Our relationship, because there were a lot of Venezuelans and Dominicans, there was a lot of tension, but when we started understanding each other it was special."
Cervelli was the first to obtain a visa, arriving in the spring of 2005 to play for the Yankees' affiliate in the Gulf Coast League. Nova soon followed, making his professional debut in the club's system the following summer.
They'd see each other in spring training, but they didn't find themselves on the same roster until 2008 and it was for only three games in High-A. The two then played at both Double-A and Triple-A together in 2009. Cervelli was the first to make his major league debut with the Yankees in 2008; however, he didn't solidly a roster spot until 2010.
Nova debuted for the Yankees on May 13 that season, and Cervelli served as his personal catcher for seven of his 10 starts. Cervelli didn't needle his starting pitcher, though. He was too concerned with proving himself on a roster filled with veterans, including Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.
"He wasn’t that confident," Nova said. "He wasn't the starting catcher. He didn’t have that many opportunities. He probably didn't want to play games that people could see. ... The pressure was something different there."
Cervelli started 80 games in 2010, only to lose the job to Russell Martin the following season. He lost the backup job to Chris Stewart in 2012 and spent most of that season in Triple-A, catching only six of Nova's 28 outings. Cervelli became the Yankees' starting catcher in 2013 when Martin signed with the Pirates, but he broke his right hand in late April and was suspended 50 games in August after being linked to the Biogenesis scandal. He played only 49 games in 2014 before being traded to the Pirates the following offseason.
There, he was given a chance to be a starting catcher. "When I came here is when I realized I got mature," Cervelli said. "All the things I learned there for eight years was amazing. Now is the time to do it every day. That was my dream – to connect to all my pitchers."
Nova's role diminished after starting 55 games for the Yankees between 2011 and 2012. From there, he bounced between the rotation and the bullpen, and from the major leagues to Triple-A. He could never quite carve out his niche. Meanwhile, as Cervelli thrived in Pittsburgh, he lobbied both Neal Huntington and Mike Fitzgerald, the Pirates' former quantitative analyst, to acquire Nova.
That finally occurred in 2016, and the tormenting began. Nova has a relaxed personality and can be soft-spoken on the days he doesn't pitch. Cervelli's goal was to make his friend angry, at all costs.
"Since day one, he was all over me," Nova said. "I’m like, ‘Dude, don’t start. Don’t start. I know you missed me, and I know you love me, but don’t start.’ I told him to take it easy, but I knew it was something he was doing to motivate me and he kept it going. It’s constant, too."
Cervelli, smiling as Nova sat to his right in the visitor's clubhouse at Wrigley Field, explained: "The day he pitches and I’m behind the plate, we fight the entire day. It’s just about fight. We don’t cross the line. He knows what I’m doing and I know what he’s doing. I know what buttons I have to push to make him angry a little bit because he’s a guy that’s so calm, he can’t get too calm. I need to get in his head sometimes."
It produced immediate results. Nova had a 2.88 ERA in eight starts with Cervelli behind the plate in 2016. He then had a 2.92 ERA through 11 starts last season before Cervelli's first stint on the disabled list. Nova was fatigued in the second half of last season and Cervelli was limited to only 81 games because of various injuries.
Now, with both healthy, Nova has a 1.10 WHIP and is averaging 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings in five starts. Although Nova struggled at Detroit in the season opener, Cervelli used three mound visits to help him strand six runners on base. Neither one would divulge what was said or how the message was delivered, but all involved have witnessed how Cervelli has found a way to get the most out of Nova, even if it typically results in a bit of yelling.
"There’s no holds barred," Ray Searage said. "Nova can say what he wants and so can Cervelli, but they come to an even keel on it and usually, one with the other, it’s a good pair. Cervelli will test Nova and Nova will get mad and yell at him and stuff. When it all comes together and they’re out there together, they’re like peas and carrots."
The dynamic can frustrate Nova. He walked away from his locker stall as Cervelli referred to him as "delicate." He dislikes how much Cervelli talks on days he starts. Yet, when Nova was a free agent following his success in 2016, his relationship with Cervelli was one of the reasons why he chose to sign a three-year extension with the Pirates.
"Oh, it works," Nova said. "You see him before the game laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing. He’ll go out there doing a lot of different things just to piss me off, even in the bullpen. That gets me going. That gets me right from pitch one. If he sees something throughout the game he’ll start going and he’ll start trash-talking me in the dugout just to get me in the right direction."
Both spoke of having a unique understanding of one another. Although they're from different countries, they beat the odds. Cervelli is the only player signed by the Yankees in his international signing class to still be in the major leagues, and only two others remain from Nova's group. They're now two passionate leaders in the Pirates' clubhouse, filling prominent roles after being stuck in limbo in New York and at least one of them is having fun while they're working together during a game.
"What we have right now is not only a pitcher and catcher, it’s a friend forever. That’s it," Cervelli said. "If I talk too much, he gets angry. If I smile, he doesn't like it. If I drop a ball in the bullpen, he gets mad, but I do it on purpose. Ray loves it. It’s fun, man. We love this. If it works, we have to keep doing it."
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