Third-base coach Cora always makes the correct call — safe
Leads Pirates’ efforts to curb coronavirus
CHICAGO — Joey Cora feels he’s lucky.
In both Puerto Rico and Pittsburgh, the Pirates third-base coach has several friends who are doctors. His wife, Kiria, has also been extremely vigilant in combating the novel coronavirus, constantly pushing for masks, social distancing and sanitizing everything, to the point where she’ll call her husband to complain if she sees something on TV that she doesn’t like.
That perspective has shaped Cora’s approach to playing baseball amid a global pandemic, one
that includes donning a face shield while coaching, trading high-fives for squirts of hand sanitizer and making sure everyone he encounters adheres to Major League Baseball’s health and safety protocols.
“For this to work out, 100% of the people in baseball need to adhere to the protocols to have a chance to pull this off,” Cora said. “If only 90-99% do it, baseball has no chance.”
As much as those within the sport don’t want COVID-19 to overshadow the on-field product, it’s a topic that’s tough to avoid right now, especially after Friday’s news that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred warned union chief Tony Clark that the season could be over by Monday if things don’t improve.
In addressing the conversation between Manfred and Clark, Pirates manager Derek Shelton said he appreciated that adjustments were being discussed. Shelton also praised the Pirates for their response, from how they disinfected their spring training clubhouse before COVID-19 infiltrated the baseball world and how they’ve only had one positive test since intake — and Gregory Polanco smartly kept himself at home.
No surprise, Cora backed those comments Saturday during a phone interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, saying the Pirates’ medical staff has been on top of this from Day 1, and Shelton has continuously reminded onfield personnel to do their part.
Cora also reinforced the need to follow health and safety protocols even if some portions might be uncomfortable or annoying.
“I don’t know what happened with the Marlins. I don’t know what happened with St. Louis. But I know that we’re doing the right thing here,” Cora said. “I know if everybody is doing what we’re doing, we have a chance.
“Obviously what’s going on around the world is unbelievable. It’s tough. But if you want to have a chance to finish the season, you’re going to have to be very diligent, follow the protocols and go above and beyond what you’re supposed to do.
“It seems like it’s an inconvenience, but if you want to play the season, you have to do it. We’ll see what happens at the end.”
Watching the Pirates, it’s easy to see Cora living that out. The face shield is obvious, but the hand sanitizer tradition probably better speaks to the entire situation.
Before games, Cora would always high-five players as they went out for pregame stretch. After looking around and noticing jugs of hand sanitizer everywhere, Cora thought of a way to translate what he used to do into COVID-19 terms.
Now, it’s a key part of the Pirates pregame routine, while Cora continually monitors how frequently guys are washing and sanitizing their hands.
“You’re still playing the game,” Cora said. “You still care and still want to win, so you keep the tradition going in a different way. Like everything else.”
At third base, Cora has watched himself give signs and feels like he can see when he wanted to touch his nose but stopped because of the shield. But he’s also not about to stop wearing it.
“It’s very comfortable,” he said. “I like it.”
It’s also, Cora believes, a symbol, a way of showing fans watching at home on
TV that the Pirates are taking this seriously. When looking at the national discussion involving baseball and COVID-19, it’s something that’s not being considered enough.
Sports are entertainment and a much-needed diversion during a pandemic. But players and coaches, whether or not they want to be, are also examples. So Cora feels like that’s a role that everyone involved should be taking seriously.
And that’s without mentioning the gobs of money at stake if the season would be canceled.
“We have team doctors here that give us recommendations daily,” Cora said. “We keep adjusting, and hopefully we finish the season and get better at it. Hopefully the whole world will get better at it.
“Because it is tough. What we’re going through is tough. By wearing a mask, cleaning your hands and socially distancing, hopefully people who are watching the games on TV are doing that. And maybe if everybody does it, we can beat this thing.”