Alex Bregman’s Under-The-Radar Skill Impressing Red Sox

Alex Cora was vehement that Alex Bregman would bring additional benefits to the Boston Red Sox than just what he provided on the field.

Take Bregman’s ability to speak to several Spanish-speaking Red Sox players in their native tongue as one of those benefits.

It’s only cemented Bregman’s role as a leader for the Red Sox in his first season with Boston, helping bridge cultural gaps in the clubhouse.

“To see Alex having conversations around the clubhouse, it’s important,” Cora told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “When we signed him, I said he was going to help us on and off the field. That’s an example. It helps us as a team.”

Bregman, who is a native of Albuquerque, N.M., learned Spanish by taking classes in the language as a high schooler. Knowing Spanish was useful for Bregman when he played for Team USA in the Pan American Championships in Mexico as a high school junior, and then again when he was a prospect with the Houston Astros and attended the team’s academy in the Dominican Republic for two weeks.

According to Speier, Bregman broke out his Spanish-speaking skills with the Red Sox, whether that was chatting it up with Rafael Devers at first base or giving intel to pitchers after facing them in live batting practice.

“In baseball, we expect everyone to learn English as they move up. But we should probably do the same thing the other way and learn Spanish so we can communicate both ways,” Bregman told Speier. “It only builds a stronger bond.”