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don’t have power, but you can look for certain pitches and try to do
damage. He assesses the game in a different way.”
And Roenicke has the one thing Cora lacks – experience managing
in the Major Leagues.
“This guy is going to help me out,” said Cora. “This guy, I know he
was a manager. I understand that’s very important. You know he’s
going to pull me aside, he’s not going to be afraid to tell me, ‘Alex,
don’t do that,’ or ‘do this.’ But at the same time, he’s going to make
players better. He’s going to be great for us.”
Experiences have shaped him
This is Cora’s first crack at managing in the Majors, but he’s had
various experiences in recent years that have him poised to tackle
his new challenge. For starters, Cora managed Winter Ball in Puerto
Rico the last two years.
“The two years I managed in Winter Ball, they were tough because
I was managing my hometown,” Cora said. “Whenever I made a bad
move the night before, I would go to the bakery to get breakfast and
somebody would question me right there. So I’m used to that.”
There was also the invaluable experience Cora had last winter
serving as general manager for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball
Classic. His team wound up finishing second to Team USA.
“You have a country you have to please,” said Cora. “I joke around
but I felt like I had the whole country on my back. You better make
the right decisions. Doing it for your country that needed to win,
that was pressure, and it put me in good position to prepare for this
challenge in this city.”
Then, there was the final part of Cora’s training ground – working
as an analyst for ESPN. Considering the size and intensity of the
media in Boston, his experience working in the field can only help.
“I think it helped me a lot. Talking in front of people —and obviously
English is my second language—and at the beginning I was
afraid of it. But I felt comfortable. I was doing SportsCenter at 6 in the
morning, 7 in the morning. Baseball Tonight at 10, primetime,” said
Cora. “I was like, 'Hey man, I'm good.' That really helped me.”
Everything Cora has done up to now has helped put him in position
for his biggest job yet.
“This is a great opportunity,” said Cora. “I know the expectations.
I know how people feel. But we have to enjoy it. We have to go to
work.” ■
Ian Browne is the Red Sox beat reporter for MLB.com.
BILLIE WEISS
New bench coach
Ron Roenicke.
Photo by Billie Weiss.
/MLB.com