As major leaguers, Alex Cora and Gabe Kapler played backup roles and were known as good teammates. They both played for the Red Sox on World Series winners: Cora in 2007, Kapler in 2004.
After their playing days, they both stayed in the game as coaches and managers. Now look at them: They’re both candidates for manager of the year honors as their teams point for the playoffs.
Cora returned to the Red Sox after serving a 2020 suspension for his role in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scheme of 2017 (he was their bench coach at that time). He came back to a team that finished last in 2020, and figured to be no better than third behind the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays.
Well, it hasn’t turned out that way. The Sox have been in the race ever since they won nine in a row in April, and now they have a good shot at a wild card spot (if their defense doesn’t doom them).
Give Cora credit for keeping the Sox going, even when he lost key players who failed COVID tests. Despite a lineup that too often had Triple A callups in key spots, Cora kept his team in the race. Now he has them ready to take full advantage of their final homestand.
As for Kapler’s Giants, they simply have been steady from the start — 16-10 in April, 18-10 in May, 16-10 in June, 15-9 in July, 19-9 in August. Then in September a nine-game winning streak enabled them to be the first in MLB to clinch a postseason spot.
The National League West figured to be a Dodgers-Padres race. Instead, they both wound up trying — so far unsuccessfully — to catch the Giants.
Cora as AL manager of the year? Kapler as NL manager of the year. Oh, yes.
LUDLOW’S MR. HOCKEY: The second annual Tony Costa Memorial Golf Tournament will be played Sunday, Sept. 26, at Cold Spring Country Club in Belchertown.
The tourney has a $125 entry fee. All proceeds go to the Antonio Costa Mr. Hockey Foundation, a nonprofit.
“We have eight slots open, and 134 players already signed up,” tournament chairman David Sepanek said.
Four players from the national championship UMass hockey team are among the entries. Sepanek hopes to have its NCAA trophy on display.
Dean Lombardi, a Stanley Cup winner in his time as general manager of the Los Angeles Kings, has indicated that he will attend. As a Ludlow kid, Lombardi learned hockey from his junior coach, Tony Costa.
The tournament also will feature a hole-in-one contest.
Tony Costa passed away Nov. 25, 2019, leaving a legacy of good deeds on behalf of Ludlow kids who wanted to play hockey.
He founded the Ludlow Hockey Association and coached with youth and high school teams for decades.
“Tony was one of the greatest ever to live in Ludlow, an inspiration to everybody around him,” said Lou Tulik, a Ludlow youth hockey grad who became a detective sergeant in the Ludlow Police Department. “I have never met a more dedicated man. Beyond all that, he had the greatest hair, and the best tan, even in the middle of winter.”
CLARION CALL: John Calipari has a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame and a statue on the UMass campus. Now he’s about to have a basketball court dedicated to him.
It will happen Tuesday, when Clarion University of Oil City, Pennsylvania, renames the basketball court in his honor. It was known as Tippin Gymnasium when Calipari played on it as a member of Clarion’s Class of 1982. Now it will be known as “Coach Cal Court.”
“We are so grateful for the leadership and philanthropy that John and Ellen Calipari have shown Clarion University over the years,” said the university’s president, Dr. Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson. “Their impact on Clarion and our students is immense.”
Calipari started his college playing career at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington before transferring to Clarion in 1981, when he helped the Golden Eagles reach their first NCAA Division II Tournament in program history. Clarion went 23-6 and reached the East Region championship game.
FOR JIMMY: Mike Borecki and his daughter Darcy of Springfield will be taking a 12-mile “Walk For The Jimmy Fund” Sept. 26 from Somers, Connecticut, to Springfield.
“Because the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk is virtual again this year, we try to stay active locally in the fight against cancer,” Borecki said.
For donations in the name of their walk, visit the Jimmy Fund Boston Marathon Walk page and look for the Mike or Darcy donation page. Or donors can mail a check to Our Sisters c/o Mike Borecki, 6 Wesson St., Springfield MA 01108.
The Jimmy Fund of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute of Boston specializes in research against cancer in children.
IT ADDS UP: On Sept. 6, 1965 (Labor Day), the Pittsfield Red Sox defeated the Springfield Giants 3-1 to clinch the Eastern League pennant behind the pitching of Pete Magrini. A crowd of 4,300 jammed Pittsfield’s Wahconah Park for this season-ending game.
As it turned out, that was the last game for the Springfield Giants. After a nine-year run at Pynchon Park, the franchise was relocated to Waterbury, Connecticut.
That was 56 years ago — not 66, as Ye Olde Mathematician stated in Wednesday’s “Hitting to All Fields” column.
FOOTBALL DAY: Today marks the first full football day for New England College teams. Seven WMass teams will be in action, including UMass, which hosts Eastern Michigan for a 3:30 kickoff at McGuirk Stadium.
The Minutemen stand 0-2, but showed some promise in last week’s loss to Boston College. They have two talented quarterbacks in Brady Olson and Tyler Lytle, so we shall see if they can win a few.
Williams College of Wlliamstown opens at home today against Middlebury. All other WMass teams take to the road — Springfield College at Union, AIC at Franklin Pierce, Western New England at Utica, and Amherst at Bates. Westfield State played at Western Connecticut last night.
TODAY’S TRIVIA: When did the Patriots-Jets rivalry begin? Answer: It goes back to 1960, when the teams were known as the Boston Patriots and New York Titans, both members of the upstart American Football League. The Patriots won that first one 28-24. They lead the all-time series 69-54-1.
BEST BET for the weekend: Yibir, in the Jockey Club Derby at Belmont.
Garry Brown can be reached at geebrown1918@gmail.com.
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