Learning a second language is a difficult task, and Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora knows that from first-hand experience, as he taught himself English when growing up in a Spanish-speaking household as a child in Caguas, Puerto Rico. That's why it comes as no surprise that he was "proud" to learn that Rafael Devers had answered questions in English for the very first time.
"It makes me proud," Cora told Rob Bradford of WEEI. "I do believe (Devers) is going to be special. He is special, but I think with time people are going to be talking about him, and for him to take that step is very important."
Cora was quick to draw parallels to former Red Sox sluggers who learned the language during their playing days.
"You saw it with David (Ortiz), I saw it with Adrián (Beltré)... I saw how they grew into this," Cora said. "David is retired, and he's doing commercials."
While the commercials may not come for a while, it was still fun to see Devers take a big step towards his goal of becoming fluent in English.
You can watch him and his Red Sox teammates take a step towards their goal of turning their season around when they take on the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET preceded by an hour of pregame coverage, and you can catch it all on NESN.
