MIAMI -- Alex Cora left his mark on the University of Miami, enough to be inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame. So when Cora returned to the city with his Red Sox for their two-game series against the Marlins, the questions about his four-year stay here were inevitable.
But while his three years of exploits on the baseball field might have highlighted his time at Miami, there was one claim to fame that which certainly piqued the interest of those listening to the Red Sox' manager's media session Monday afternoon.
It turns out Cora played video games with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
"So out of all the guys, Warren Sapp was there, Ray Lewis was here, the Rock, Dwayne Johnson. I played PlayStation with the Rock my freshman year," Cora remembered. "We didn't know. It was in the dorms. The freshmen had to stay in the dorms. We went to his room and we were playing, we didn't know. all of a sudden, 10 years later, he's like a superstar. I frigging played PlayStation with him. I don't think he knows who I am, or that I played PlayStation with him, but I can say I did. Out of all the guys, Warren Sapp, I see him, he's one of my favorites. Ray Lewis. And then from the other good teams in 2001, I was able to meet him, Ed Reed, he's my favorite player. we got robbed. Fiesta Bowl. That wasn't pass interference."
Johnson played for the Hurricanes' football team, winning a National Championship in 1991.
During the pregame interview, Cora also explained why he chose Miami, having grown up in Puerto Rico.
"Well, Joey [Cora] went to Vanderbilt and around that time, Eddie Perez, he went to FSU. Luis Alicea went to FSU, and I don't know if you remember, but around that time on ESPN, they showed a lot of college games and most of the games they showed were UM games so I fell in love with the program," he said. "I loved the unis, first of all, the orange top and the green one. Loved that, and it seemed like they always showed the Friday game and it was always packed. I was like ... I'll say it now, it was either Miami or FSU honestly. Loved the Sunday uniforms. Came here, my first official visit, it was to Miami, and that was the only visit. I cancelled everybody else and decided to come here."
