Miami baseball alums ready for MLB postseason

Miami baseball alums Alex Cora, Zack Collins and Yasmani Grandal will participate in the postseason beginning Tuesday. Cora will manage the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the American League Wildcard game on Tuesday night. Collins and Grandal will begin play with the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

The first pitch for the Red Sox and Yankees is at 8:08 PM ET from Fenway Park. Collins and Grandal open play in the American League division series against the Houston Astros on Thursday at 4:07 PM ET from Minute Maid Park. Cora returned to Boston this year after being fired following the 2019 season.

The firing was more of a de facto suspension following his involvement in the Astros cheating scandal during their 2017 World Series winning season. Cora has a career record of 284-202 for a .584 winning percentage. In his rookie season as a manager, Cora led Boston to a franchise-record 108-54 record and World Series title.

Grandal is in his second season with Chicago after signing as a free agent during the 2019-20 offseason. After getting off to a slow start, Grandal finished with a .240 batting average, 23 home runs and 62 RBIs. Grandal hit .337 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs in just 30 games in the second half.

Grandal was out from July 5 to August 27 with a knee injury. Collins was drafted by the White Sox in 2016 out of Miami. In his first full season with Chicago, Collins hit .210 with a .330 on-base percentage, .338 slugging percentage and .669 OPS backing up Grandal at catcher. Collins provides Chicago with a good bat off the bench.

Also on the White Sox 40 man roster is another former Miami baseball player, Romy Gonzalez. In 33 late-season at-bats, Gonzalez had a slash line of .250, .273, .344 and a .616 OPS. Gonzalez could have a future with Chicago as a utility player able to play the infield and outfield. The White Sox have a bright future.