It's not everyday you see a major-league manager break character and look anything but stern during a ball game, but things were a little bit different for Boston Red Sox skipper Alex Cora on Monday.
Cora was filmed laughing at Eduardo Nunez after the infielder was drilled in the stomach by Baltimore Orioles reliever Mychal Givens.
(Video courtesy: MLB.com)
Although it seemed kind of mean for Cora to laugh at someone who just took an 87-mph pitch to the gut, the manager provided entertaining context after his team's 2-0 win in extra innings.
"He was going, 'Oh my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I'm not gonna die. I'm not gonna die.' I felt so bad, I just, I couldn't stop," Cora explained to WEEI's Rob Bradford. "It was funny. Whatever. At least he made me laugh in the 12th inning of a close game. ... He's not dead. He's alive."
Nunez later explained that he was trying to reassure his teammate Brock Holt.
"Brock was so worried," Nunez said. "I said, 'Brock, I'm not going to die. It's just pain.' They thought it was funny. I saw Alex laughing, which made me laugh too."
