Muniz: Why Puerto Rico is the new cradle of baseball coaches
From Clemson Smith Muñiz at La Vida Baseball on April 11, 2018:
As Puerto Rico gets ready to serve as host of two games between the Cleveland Indians and the Minnesota Twins next week, it can bask in the satisfaction that baseball is booming despite an enormous debt crisis and a painfully slow recovery from Hurricane María.
While there was no World Baseball Classic this year, the Criollos de Caguas won the Caribbean Series for the second straight winter. And for the first time, two Puerto Ricans are managing in the major leagues in the same season, skippering teams so loaded with talent that it’s conceivable that they could meet in the World Series.
In fact, Álex Cora, the Boston Red Sox’s first minority manager, has already cemented himself in team lore, leading the club to an 8-1 start — its best ever in a history that dates to the founding of the American League in 1901.
Cora and his Washington Nationals counterpart, Dave Martínez, are just the tip of the iceberg. This season, a record 16 Puerto Ricans are managing and coaching in the major leagues.
Read the full article here: https://www.lavidabaseball.com/puerto-rico-coaching-boom-record-16/
- Related link: Download your free e-book edition of Puerto Rico and Baseball: 60 Biographies, edited by Bill Nowlin and Edwin Fernandez
Originally published: April 11, 2018. Last Updated: April 11, 2018.