It’s been quite a year for Alex Cora.
The first-year manager has led the Boston Red Sox to Major League Baseball’s best record at 104-49, is just one win away from tying the 1912 franchise record for most wins in a regular season and watched his team clinch the American League East division Thursday night when the Sox defeated the New York Yankees 11-6 at Yankee Stadium.
But aside from what’s been happening on the field, Cora has been dealing with a lot off the field as well. Most notably, Hurricane Maria, which made landfall in Cora’s native Puerto Rico a year ago Thursday, causing devastating damage.
After Boston clinched, Cora was emotional with reporters when talking about his hometown, and had a simple message for the people of Puerto Rico.
“For my country, it’s great,” the skipper said after the game, as seen on NESN’s Red Sox postgame coverage. “There are a lot of people proud of me. I’m prouder of them.”
With the division locked up, Cora and the Sox now will shift their focus on securing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
