Alex Cora

José Alexander (Alex) Cora (born October 18, 1975 in Caguas, Puerto Rico) is a utility infielder for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball.

University of Miami career

Cora was drafted in the 12th round by the Minnesota Twins in the 1993 draft, but did not sign a contract and decided instead to play collegiate baseball at the University of Miami.

While at the University of Miami, Cora was named to the College World Series all-tournament team in both 1995 and 1996, leading his team to the title game in 1996 although they would lose that game to LSU.

Professional career

Having been rated by Baseball America as the best collegiate defensive player going into the 1996 draft, Cora was once again drafted, this time by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round.

Cora played his first major-league game in 1998 for the Dodgers, and spent the next seven years in Los Angeles, hitting .246 with 27 home runs and 173 RBI in 684 games.

During the 2004 offseason, Cora signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians, where he appeared in 49 games with 22 starts at shortstop and 14 at second base. He hit .205 with a home run and eight RBI. On July 7, 2005, was traded to the Red Sox for infielder Ramón Vázquez.

In Boston, Cora was originally intended to provide a suitable backup for shortstop Edgar Rentería. With the trade of Renteria to the Atlanta Braves before the start of the 2006 season, Cora was being eyed to take the position of starting shortstop until the Red Sox acquired Alex Gonzalez.

Personal

Cora is the younger brother of former MLB utility player and current Chicago White Sox third base coach, Joey Cora. Cora makes his off-season home in Caguas, Puerto Rico with his wife Nilda, daughter Camila and stepson Jeriel.

Trivia

• On May 12, 2004, Cora had an 18-pitch at-bat against Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Matt Clement. Facing a 2-1 count, Cora fouled off 14 straight pitches before finally hitting a home run. It's the longest documented at-bat since baseball statisticians began keeping track of pitch counts in the mid-1980s. So much time elapsed that Cora's brother Joey joked that he and Ozzie Guillén were watching the game at a restaurant ordering their first beer during the first pitch, and, by the time Cora homered, Cora and Guillen were "so...drunk that we had to call a cab to take us home."^[1]

• Cora has played in the two longest 9-inning games in MLB history. The first was a 4 hour, 27 minute game on October 5, 2001 between the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. The second game - and the longest on record - was a 4 hour, 45 minute game on August 18, 2006 - the second game of a double header between the Red Sox and New York Yankees.

Notes

1. ^ Amalie Benjamin, The Boston Globe. An at-bat for the ages. Retrieved on 2006-08-26.

External links

• Alex Cora profile and statistics at ESPN.
• Baseball Reference - career statistics and analysis.
• Alex Cora profile at MLB.com.

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