Getting hit by a pitch in baseball usually isn’t a funny experience, but it was for Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora on Monday.
In the 12th inning of the Sox’s 2-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles, second baseman Eduardo Nunez was drilled in the stomach by an 87 mph slider. Nunez quickly went to the ground, with team medical staff and Cora running out to check on him.
But mere seconds into Cora’s visit with Nunez, the Sox skipper started laughing uncontrollably (which you can watch here).
After the game, Cora explained why he couldn’t handle his hysterics, noting that Nunez kept jokingly asking if he was going to die.
“Well he was going, ‘Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, am I going to die, am I going to die, am I going to die?'” Cora said, as seen on NESN’s Red Sox postgame coverage. “I felt so bad, I just, I couldn’t stop, so whatever at least he made me laugh in the 12th inning of a close game. But yeah, that was hilarious.”
Cora then confirmed that Nunez did, in fact, survive the ordeal.
“He’s not dead, he’s alive.”
Phew, sounds like it was a close call.