MLB manager Alex Cora must be on top of the world now. His Boston Red Soxjust won the World Series, and last year, he was the bench coach for the 2017 champs, the Houston Astros.
But in between all the winning, Cora made a huge gesture of support for his hometown of Caguas, Puerto Rico. When he was negotiating his contract with the Red Sox in 2017, Cora says he asked for one thing in particular to seal the deal: A plane full of supplies to help people that were struggling in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
He detailed his request during a news conference on October 18, right after the Red Sox punched their ticket to the World Series.
“I mentioned it earlier today during the celebration that I only asked for one thing on the negotiation. And I know a lot of people have made a big deal of that,” he said. “But I just asked for a plane full of supplies. And we went down there and we helped 300 families in my hometown.”
Cora and a host of Boston personalities including Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Red Sox players Rick Porcello, Christian Vazquez and Chris Sale, met in Caguas in January of this year to personally dole out the promised supplies.
Along with necessities like diapers, batteries and funds, the group also brought along a little something extra: New baseball equipment for the neighborhood children.
“It was a life-changing experience for a lot of people in this organization,” Cora said in his October news conference.
Puerto Rico is one of the places at the heart of the Major League Baseball family, and after 2017’s devastation, several players of Puerto Rican heritage organized trips, events and fundraisers to benefit their hometown.
