Cora, Martinez Stay True To Themselves, As Ozzie Guillen Always Has

SAN DIEGO – The last two World Series-winning managers strolled in right after each other Monday afternoon for their scheduled briefings at the annual Baseball Winter Meetings. If the Nationals’ Dave Martinez had known he was following Alex Cora of the Red Sox, he would have stepped through the crowded media horde and interrupted his good friend.

At least that’s what Martinez said with a smile after Cora’s session spilled more than 10 minutes past the scheduled 20-minute block and into Martinez’s scheduled slot at the Grand Hyatt.

Martinez, who led the Nationals to the 2019 title over the Astros, waited patiently at the side of the ballroom while Cora wrapped up his session. Then he smiled widely and briefly caught up with his pal before settling in for his briefing. They’ve grown somewhat tired of discussing the topic, but Cora and Martinez have helped create a new and important narrative for Latinos with managerial aspirations.

By winning the last two World Series titles early in their managerial careers, Cora and Martinez have shown the baseball world what Latinos can do when given the tools to succeed. Only three Latinos have won World Series titles – Venezuelan Ozzie Guillén of the 2005 White Sox, Puerto Rican Cora of the 2018 Red Sox and Martinez, a son of Puerto Ricans.

Guillén, who appears on the “Being Guillén” show each Friday on La Vida Baseball Live, even drew a mention during Cora’s session when the former ESPN broadcaster was asked about his dealings with the media.

Guillén remains a role model

Language was a major obstacle for Cora when he began his broadcasting career. The native of Puerto Rico would admittedly question himself in the green room.
“Oh, my goodness, what am I doing here?” Cora remembers asking himself at ESPN.

Then he saw Guillén, who had Cora’s older brother, Joey, on his coaching staff when the White Sox won the 2005 title.

Alex Cora considers Guillén one of his best friends and an inspiration.

“I love him like a brother,” Cora said while recalling their days at ESPN. “It’s not a jab to Ozzie Guillén. But Ozzie was doing First Take. It was 10 in the morning, and I see how comfortable Ozzie was on TV with his Spanglish, and I thought, ‘If Ozzie can do it, I can do it.’ Just be comfortable with yourself. That’s what I’ve been saying.

“I’ve been saying all along, I love my job. I love what I do. The thing about this, I’ve been the same guy from five years ago. I learned that. Just be yourself. If people like it, they do. If they don’t, they don’t respect you anyways.”

Cora was speaking specifically about Guillén’s broadcasting career, but he could have easily been talking about Guillén’s trailblazing managerial career.

Equally important, every Latino who dreams about being a manager in the majors can say the same thing about Guillén, Cora and Martinez.

If Guillén, Cora and Martinez can do it, you can dream too.

Cora became the first native of Puerto Rico to win a World Series and the second Latino. He won it all as a rookie manager, becoming the first Latino to accomplish that feat. Martinez led the Nationals to the title in his second year of managing, riding the National League wild-card all the way to upsets over the Dodgers, Cardinals and then American League-champion Astros.

It remains to be seen what Cora’s and Martinez’s triumphs mean for Major League Baseball in terms of minority hiring. Only one of the eight managerial openings in baseball was filled by a person of color this winter, so one can say that’s a pretty disappointing sign.

Carlos Beltrán of the Mets was the only Latino manager hired this winter. He should have been joined by a few others, though.

Several deserving candidates remain

Joey Cora deserves a shot. So does Joe Espada, the man who followed Alex Cora as Astros bench coach. Espada was considered a top managerial candidate for multiple jobs for the second-consecutive offseason, but he fell short, just as Martinez often fell short before finally getting his shot with the Nationals after the 2017 season.

“One Latino got hired,” Alex Cora said. “I don’t know, man. I always talk about this subject. Sometimes it’s tough to talk about it.

“I do believe that the whole rule, I understand why it’s in place, but at the same time, when we stop talking about Alex as a minority, Carlos as a minority, Dave as a minority, Joey Cora as a minority, and they see us as capable guys that can run an organization, the door will be bigger.”

There are only 30 managerial jobs, and Cora notes that plenty other qualified non-Latino candidates haven’t been given interviews for managerial positions.

“Owners are going to make decisions,” Alex Cora said. “Presidents of baseball operations are going to make decisions. But I do believe that you don’t have to be white, black or Latino to be a big league manager.

“You’ve just got to be capable. And the people that make those decisions, there’s a reason they’re up there, and they will make decisions for the benefit of the organization.”

Remaining consistent

In the meantime, Cora and Martinez know it’s best for candidates to stay true to their personalities, just as Guillén has always done.

When asked what advice he’d give Beltrán, Martinez sounded a familiar tone. Martinez didn’t learn that lesson from Guillén, though. He actually learned it from the man who brought a title to the North Side of Chicago, Joe Maddon.

“For me, and Carlos being his first year as a manager, my biggest thing with him is, ‘Hey, stay in the moment and just be true to you,’” Martinez said. “That’s something that I learned, I learned from Joe. When things go bad, when things aren’t right, just be true to who you are because the players will follow you and believe in them.”

In that regard, the three Latinos who have won World Series titles have shared a common thread.