Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is cool on the complimentary White House visit that comes with winning the 2018 World Series as long as his homeland Puerto Rico is still struggling to get back to normal after Hurricane Maria.
“The government has done some things back home that are great, but we still have a long ways to go,” he said on Sunday after a 9-2 win over the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field, the Chicago Tribune reports. “That’s our reality. It’s pretty tough to go celebrate when we’re where we’re at. I’d rather not go and be consistent with everything.”
Cora added that initially the plan was to attend the ceremony and use that opportunity to say something about difficult conditions still facing the people of Puerto Rico since the hurricane in 2017, but after speaking with family and friends, they decided that sitting this one out would be a better move.
“We talked about it and decided (not going) was the best way to do it,” Cora said.
The Red Sox manager noted that he told Red Sox management about his decision and was fully supported. According to the Boston Globe, 11 players—including 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts, starting pitcher David Price and Puerto Rican catcher Christian Vazquez—have said they will not attend.
No word on whether or not they will be missing Chick-Fil-A.