Cora arrives in Puerto Rico as fans celebrate

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.

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.

WRITERS’ AWARDS

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.