The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Cora celebrates title back home in Puerto Rico
CAGUAS, Puerto Rico — Hundreds of arms stretched into the sky in the hometown of Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora on Saturday as fans took pictures and video of the first man from Puerto Rico to lead a team to a World Series championship.
Cora held up the trophy that he had been cradling in his arms as he arrived in the city of Caguas with pitchers David Price and Eduardo Rodriguez and catcher Christian Vazquez, among others including Red Sox chairman Tom Werner.
The Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers on Oct. 28 to win their fourth championship in 15 years.
From a stage, Cora then addressed the crowd, saying the win wouldn’t have been possible without team members.
“Everyone’s talking about Alex, about the coaches, about the owners…but what these guys do every day is worthy of admiration,” he said, adding that he heard stories about Puerto Ricans staying up until 4 a.m. to watch games.
“And that excited me because I would think, I’m not doing anything. Thank you for being here. Thank you for supporting us,” he said.
Fans dressed in red and blue gushed about Cora’s visit.
“He put us on the map,” said 26-year-old Miguel Martinez, who was slow dancing to salsa with his girlfriend as they waited for Cora. “My eyes filled with tears when he won the championship because this is something historic.”
Some fans had driven more than an hour to receive the manager and praised how he helped Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria hit more than a year ago amid a 12-year recession.
When 43-year-old Cora negotiated his contract last October, he asked his team to help with relief efforts, and they eagerly pitched in.
“Despite everything that has happened, we have a bit of happiness on the side,” said Red Sox fan Arleen Cruz, who drove to Caguas with her husband from the southern town of Humacao to receive the players.
The two have been Red Sox fans since 1972.
“Puerto Rico’s name couldn’t be held up higher,” said Cruz’s husband, Ramon Reyes, who was clad in a Red Sox hat, T-shirt and towel slung over his shoulder.
RANGERS HIRE WOODWARD
Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Chris Woodward was hired as manager of the Texas Rangers on Saturday, six weeks after Jeff Banister was fired.
He received a three-year contract with a club option for 2022. He will be introduced at a news conference Monday.
Woodward inherits a team that went 67-95 and finished last in the AL West, with the focus turning to the development of younger players. Texas had its first consecutive losing seasons since 2005-08.
The hiring ended a process during which general manager Jon Daniels and the Rangers interviewed more than 10 candidates, including bench coach Don Wakamatsu after he served as interim coach the final 10 games of the season.
Woodward was interviewed this week after the Dodgers finished their second straight season in which they advanced to the World Series, losing both times. The last team before Los Angeles that appeared in consecutive World Series without winning the title was Texas in 2010 and 2011.
“We interviewed a number of strong candidates during an extensive interview process for our managerial role and believe we have found the right fit in Chris Woodward,” Daniels said in a statement released by the team. “We look forward to working with him and everyone on the baseball staff to develop and grow a culture that will lead to success for many years to come.”
Daniels has hired three managers in his 13 seasons as the Rangers GM, and all were first-time MLB managers. Texas won its only American League pennants during Ron Washington’s eight seasons before Banister won two AL West titles in his four seasons.
Two candidates Texas interviewed were hired last month as managers by other teams, David Bell in Cincinnati and Rocco Baldelli in Minnesota. The hiring of Woodward left the Baltimore Orioles, who fired Buck Showalter after the season, as the only MLB team with a managerial vacancy.
The 42-year-old Woodward spent the past three years on the staff of manager Dave Roberts, after working for Seattle the previous three years. He started his coaching career as minor league infield coordinator for the Mariners in 2013, then joined their big league staff later that year. He was Seattle’s infield coach in 2014 and the first base coach in 2015.
WRITERS’ AWARDS
David Price has won the Babe Ruth award as postseason MVP in voting by the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
After pitching the Boston Red Sox to their World Series title, Price will be honored along with other award winners at the chapter’s 96th annual dinner on Jan. 26 in Manhattan.
Mets ace Jacob deGrom was selected New York player of the year Friday, and teammate David Wright took the Joe DiMaggio Toast of the Town award. Former general manager Sandy Alderson, who stepped down last summer after his cancer returned, was saluted with the Arthur and Milton Richman You Gotta Have Heart award.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman will receive the Joan Payson/Shannon Forde award for community service. Longtime broadcaster Ken Singleton was tabbed for the Casey Stengel You Could Look It Up award, 40 years after he finished runner-up for AL MVP.
Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo was an overwhelming choice for the Ben Epstein/Dan Castellano Good Guy award. Media relations dean Jay Horwitz got the William J. Slocum and Jack Lang Award for Long and Meritorious Service as he transitions to a new role as vice president of alumni public relations and team historian.
The Willie, Mickey & The Duke award will go to the 1969 Miracle Mets on the 50th anniversary of their championship season.