Random Seattle Athlete of the Day: Joey Cora

Name: Joey "Little Joey" Cora

Was he any good?

In his four seasons as the Mariners starting second baseman, Cora was not that bad. In 1997, he was actually named to the American League All-Star team and finished the season with a line of .300/.359/.441 (all career highs). Cora never hit below .275 in his time as a Mariner.

Defensively, Cora's skills were nothing to write home about. He led the league in all positions with 23 errors in 1995, and he has also led his position with most errors in 1993 and 1998.

During the 1995 American League Division series, Cora hit .316/.409/.526, had six hits in 19 at-bats, and also hit a home run.

 

Cora was later traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1998 in exchange for David Bell. This ended up being his last season as a major leaguer. 

Currently, "Little Joey" is the bench coach for the Chicago White Sox, and has been on their coaching staff since 2004. He has been named as a possible managerial candidate for several vacant openings in the past couple of offseasons, with his name even came up during the Mariners search for a manager this past winter.

Anything else to know?

Not many baseball players can say they survived an attempt on their life, but Joey Cora can. In 1986 as a member of the Beaumont Golden Gators (a minor league affiliate for the San Diego Padres at the time), after a game in San Antonio, Texas, Cora suffered several stab wounds and had to undergo emergency exploratory surgery and had an appendectomy.

Though Cora was a valued contributor to the Mariners in the mid and late 90's, Cora is most famous in Seattle for another reason. His name frequently comes up whenever fans reminisce about 1995 because of a memorable picture taken after the Mariners lost the American League Championship series to the Cleveland Indians. In the picture, a young Alex Rodriguez embraces and consoles a crying Joey Cora who has his head down.