Remembering the 2 most famous moments of Cora's playing days
The Boston Red Sox hired Alex Cora to be the 47th manager in club history Sunday, signing the 42-year-old to a three-year contract.
Cora's ties to the Red Sox, however, came before Sunday's announcement, as the Puerto Rican spent four seasons with the organization from 2005-08 where he appeared in 301 games in a super-utility role.
The big-league veteran wasn't much of a hitter, producing a meager .649 OPS during his 14 seasons in the majors, but he did produce a couple of extraordinary moments during his time in the show, which may go down as the biggest highlights of his career.
In 2004, while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a then-28-year-old Cora was responsible for one of the lengthiest plate appearances in baseball history when he battled through an incredible at-bat against Chicago Cubs' pitcher Matt Clement.
After getting ahead in the count 2-1 against the Cubs' right-hander, Cora fouled off 14 consecutive pitches before driving the 18th offering over the right-field fence at Dodger Stadium.
Ironically, Dave Roberts was on the Dodgers' bench rooting on Cora during the impressive plate appearance. Roberts, who now manages the Dodgers, will square off against Cora - who will continue in his role as the Houston Astros' bench coach until the end of the postseason - when the World Series begins Tuesday.
Two years after his memorable at-bat against Clement, a different plate battle helped cement Cora's name into Red Sox lore when he hit a bizarre home run against Toronto Blue Jays' right-hander Roy Halladay.
Down 2-2 in the count, with two outs, and the game tied at four, Cora golfed a Halladay offering to the warning track in right field. Blue Jays' outfielder Alex Rios appeared to have a bead on it before he juggled the ball and gifted Cora with a home run in arguably one of the most embarrassing moments of his career.
Even Cora was shocked by the blunder and had to do a double-take as he approached second base to be sure the ball actually entered the stands.
The two long balls, which were two of just 35 he hit during his career, certainly left an impression on baseball fans, which is exactly what Cora will need to do when he takes over the Red Sox next season.