“I have a 12-year-old and she does not have a phone. And she won’t for a bit.”
Alex Cora doesn’t care what you think of him missing a game to be with his daughter.
The 49-year-old former MLB player, who is in the midst of his seventh season as the manager of the Boston Red Sox, is a dad of three.
He shares a recently-graduated daughter, Camila, with his ex-wife Nilda Cora and twin sons, Xander and Isander, with his fiancée Angelica Feliciano, per the MLB.
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On May 19, the player-turned-manager had what seemed to be an easy decision to make: coach his team vs. the New York Mets or watch his daughter graduate from nearby Boston College.
Alex Cora chose the latter, much to the chagrin of Red Sox fans.
One local radio personality, Mike Felger of 98.5’s The Sports Hub, described Alex Cora’s day off as “preposterous,” per the Boston Herald, claiming that the graduation was over by noon.
I should’ve seen this coming, but Felger ripping Alex Cora for missing one game for his daughter’s college graduation is crazy. He’s acting like one baseball game is more important than a major life milestone for Cora’s family @bostonradio @MikeMutnansky pic.twitter.com/ZAo51KYC6U
— Boston Media Critic (@bostonmedia617) May 19, 2025
“It’s just the tone you set, the example you set,” Felger argued. “It’s just the leadership and optics of the whole thing. It’s a very easy chance for him to say, ‘Nothing’s more important than tonight’s game.'”
On May 20, Alex Cora was asked why he didn’t just “rush out” of the ceremony to be with his team.
"She wanted me to be with her. It was her day, so this is secondary,” he replied in the press conference, shared by NBC Sports Boston. “We’re in this world for a purpose, and for me, it’s to raise her.”
@nbcsboston "For those that don't understand, I'm not going to try and convince them. I made the best decision for my girl." Alex Cora addresses missing yesterday's game
♬ original sound - NBC Sports Boston
Alex Cora further explained that he “wasn’t going to miss” the graduation and wanted to spend the whole day with his daughter.
He then laughed off the criticism his decision received online.
"People have their own opinions. I bet those people have families too, and at one point, they'll have to make decisions too. And I bet they make decisions for the best of the family,” he told reporters May 20.
“I made the best decision for my daughter,” he continued. “For those who don't understand, I'm not going to try to convince them."
Fans voice their support for Alex Cora in the comment section
Most of the criticism Alex Cora received was due to the graduation taking place in the morning and the game starting at around 6:45 p.m. local time.
According to Google Maps, Boston College is roughly four miles west of Fenway Park, where the Red Sox play their home games.
On The Sports Hub, Felger argued that Cora could’ve “cabbed down the street” to manage the game.
But many fans online were a little more understanding of his decision.
“There are 162 games in the baseball season for some reason. His daughter graduates once,” one fan commented under NBC Sports Boston’s video of the press conference.
“She wanted me to be there. I wanted to be there. End of discussion,” another fan wrote, while a third fan commented, “Anybody who has a problem with this can kick rocks. This man has his priorities straight!”
Plus, as Alex Cora described it in his press conference, May 19 turned out to be the “perfect” day.
Not only did he get to watch his daughter graduate college, but Alex Cora’s Red Sox beat the Mets 3-1 with bench coach Ramon Vazquez serving as the acting manager.
The Red Sox went on to beat the Mets 2-0 when Alex Cora returned on May 20.
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If Alex Cora’s decision teaches us anything, it’s that parenthood always comes first — no matter what others try to say or take away from it.
