Álex Cora brings the hardware home to Caguas
By Adrian Burgos
Each Saturday, El Profe digs into moments in baseball history captured by a camera lens. These Iconic Images stir the soul, capturing more than a moment in a game. Today, El Profe examines the finer details of his Photo of the Year.
During the last few weeks I’ve been breaking down iconic Latino baseball photos, such as Roberto Clemente tipping his cap after his 3,000th hit and Fernando Valenzuela looking up to the heavens. Photos become iconic over time. They simmer in our souls and eventually become burned into our personal baseball archive.
What photo from 2018 will fans look back on 30 years from now and say, “Oh yeah, I know that photo, it’s a classic.”
I’d argue it is this picture of Álex Cora.
We dreamed of this moment as kids – the return to our hometown and holding aloft the World Series trophy for all to see like a conquering hero.
Whether it was playing baseball on the street, whiffle ball in the yard, or swinging away at a batting cage, I certainly daydreamed of such a triumphant moment.
Álex Cora lived that dream this November in his hometown of Caguas, Puerto Rico.
This photo captures that dreamed-about moment – the hero’s welcome.
A few drops of rain on this November day wasn’t going to stop Caguas residents—from the Mayor to the everyday baseball fan—from attending the day’s celebration.
They were there to celebrate Cora’s historical achievement as the first Puerto Rican to lead a team to a World Series title as a manager.
They needed this type of celebration, especially after what they had gone through over the previous year.
Hurricane María had dumped 38 inches of rain when it passed through Caguas in September 2017. Maria’s winds had ripped through the lush vegetation on the mountains that surround the city’s valley area.
“It looked like a movie where a bomb had been dropped on a town,” Caguas mayor William Miranda Torres told me of his initial reaction to the devastation.
Cora had looked out for Caguas from the start in his stint as Boston Red Sox manager. In contract negotiations he asked for relief supplies for his devastated home town of 130,000 residents.
The first plane he brought from Boston transported much needed relief supplies.
The second plane Cora brought from Boston carried a World Series trophy.
So, of course, this November day was going to be different. On your typical day, the pavilion looks like this.
But on Nov. 2, the scene was a joyous celebration. This was personal to the people in Caguas. It was a celebration of their resilience, their working together to overcome the devastating impact of a hurricane, and the achievement of one their own who always spoke proudly of his hometown.
Indeed, Cora had a Roberto Clemente-type moment in the postgame interview following the Red Sox clinching the World Series title. On live television Cora shared his pride in being Puerto Rican and from Caguas, and then he put Red Sox ownership on the spot, asking “if we could take this trophy to my island.”
This day was not just the fulfillment of Cora’s postgame question but also of a dream that so many had dreamt. Yet, it was Cora who had accomplished it and was able to share it.
One can sense the crowd’s excitement. Many in the crowd are angling to take a photo of Cora on their phone or camera. Others have hands outstretched, seemingly reaching out to Cora.
A few opted against umbrellas to hold banner celebrating their native son’s glorious achievement.
Cora had made it personal all along for them. He constantly used the expression “De Caguas Pa’l Mundo.” Roughly translated, this means from Caguas to the world.
He had claimed them all along the journey to the title. This day was their turn to claim him. One of their own, not just any Puerto Rican, had led a team to a World Series title as manager.
Featured Image: Red Sox Instagram