Well-traveled Cora goes back for more

FORT MYERS - Ask Alex Cora [stats] what he remembers most about playing baseball in Japan, and he won’t take you down the usual road of culture shock, language barriers and the many hours it took to make the trip.

Not right away. First, the Red Sox [team stats] utility infielder will talk to you about batting practice.

Cora was on a team of major league All-Stars - “See, I really was an All-Star,” he likes to say - for an eight-game series against Japanese All-Stars in November 2004. When he arrived at the ballpark for the first game, he was shocked to see that the Japanese take batting practice with two players hitting at the same time. Click here to continue reading...