Puerto Rico Will Have Plenty To Root For In Red Sox-Astros ALCS

The rest of Major League Baseball may be sick of the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros essentially sharing the American League pennant over the last few years.

But Puerto Rico loves to see it.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora in 2018 became the first Puerto Rican manager to win a World Series, and he’ll have a chance to return with Kiké Hernández and Christian Vázquez.

“There are many happy people in Puerto Rico, especially the owners of the bars, who are filling up to watch the games,” Cora recently said of his fellow countrymen after they helped Boston clinch the AL Division Series. “What Christian Vázquez has done with the pitching staff and Kiké Hernández with the bat and defense is tremendous.”

No matter who wins between the Red Sox and Astros, Puerto Rico be represented in the World Series, with native Carlos Correa playing shortstop.

Cora was Correa’s bench couch in Houston, but the relationship went much deeper than that. The 27-year-old texted Cora to congratulate him when the Red Sox advanced, but the pair is cutting off all communication Friday ahead of Game 1.

“Like in 12 hours it’s over, you know? This is business,” Cora said of his hiatus from texting Correa.

“Carlos, like I said, he means a lot. I text his dad today, this morning, like this is what we envisioned a few years ago. The leader. You know, there’s a lot of conviction behind him. He is very firm on what he believes, and he is a great player. And you’re not 1-1 in the draft because you’re lucky. You’re 1-1 because you’re good and people expect you to be great, and that’s what he is. He is a great player. I actually saw him doing some stuff for Fox over there, modeling. He likes that stuff. You know, he digs himself. He has been great. He has been great, and I’m proud of him.”

The Red Sox and Astros are slated to play in Game 1 on Friday at 8:07 p.m. ET.