Red Sox manager Cora shrugs off criticism for missing game on daughter’s big day
Alex Cora doesn’t care what you think of him missing a game to be with his daughter.
The 49-year-old former Major League Baseball player, who is in the midst of his seventh season as the manager of the Boston Red Sox, is a dad of three.
He shares a recently-graduated daughter, Camila, with his ex-wife Nilda Cora and twin sons, Xander and Isander, with his fiancée, Angelica Feliciano, per the MLB.
On May 19, the player-turned-manager had what seemed to be an easy decision to make: coach his team vs. the New York Mets or watch his daughter graduate from nearby Boston College.
Cora chose the latter, much to the chagrin of Red Sox fans.
One local radio personality, Mike Felger of 98.5 The Sports Hub, described Cora’s day off as “preposterous,” per the Boston Herald, claiming that the graduation was over by noon.
“It’s just the tone you set, the example you set,” Felger argued. “It’s just the leadership and optics of the whole thing. It’s a very easy chance for him to say, ‘Nothing’s more important than tonight’s game.’”
On May 20, Cora was asked why he didn’t just “rush out” of the ceremony to be with his team.
“She wanted me to be with her. It was her day, so this is secondary,” he replied in the news conference, shared by NBC Sports Boston. “We’re in this world for a purpose, and for me, it’s to raise her.”
Cora further explained that he “wasn’t going to miss” the graduation and wanted to spend the whole day with his daughter.
He then laughed off the criticism his decision received online.
“People have their own opinions. I bet those people have families too, and at one point, they’ll have to make decisions too. And I bet they make decisions for the best of the family,” he told reporters May 20.
“I made the best decision for my daughter,” he continued. “For those who don’t understand, I’m not going to try to convince them.”
Most of the criticism Cora received was due to the graduation taking place in the morning and the game starting at around 6:45 p.m. local time.
According to Google Maps, Boston College is roughly four miles west of Fenway Park, where the Red Sox play their home games.
On The Sports Hub, Felger argued that Cora could’ve “cabbed down the street” to manage the game.
But many fans online were a little more understanding of his decision.
“There are 162 games in the baseball season for some reason. His daughter graduates once,” one fan commented under NBC Sports Boston’s video of the news conference.
“She wanted me to be there. I wanted to be there. End of discussion,” another fan wrote, while a third fan commented, “Anybody who has a problem with this can kick rocks. This man has his priorities straight!”
Plus, as Cora described it at his news conference, May 19 turned out to be the “perfect” day.
Not only did he get to watch his daughter graduate college, but the Red Sox beat the Mets 3-1 with bench coach Ramon Vazquez serving as the acting manager.
The Red Sox went on to beat the Mets 2-0 when Cora returned on May 20.
