Alex Cora

José Alexander "Alex" Cora (born October 18, 1975) is a former professional baseball infielder who is currently a baseball analyst for ESPN. He played college baseball at the University of Miami.

Professional career

Early career

Cora was drafted in the 12th round of the 1993 Major League Baseball Draft by the Minnesota Twins, but did not sign a contract and decided instead to play collegiate baseball at the University of Miami. While there, Cora was named to the College World Series all-tournament team in both 1995 and 1996. He led the team to the title game in 1996, a game they lost to Louisiana State University.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Having been rated by Baseball America as the best collegiate defensive player going into the 1996 draft, Cora was once again drafted, this time by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round. Cora made his major league debut on June 7, 1998 for the Dodgers, and spent the next seven years in Los Angeles, batting .246 with 27 home runs and 173 RBIs. During his time with the Dodgers, he played at second and shortstop. During the 2000 and 2001 seasons, Cora mostly played shortstop as the Dodgers moved the aging Mark Grudzielanek to second base. With the emergence of César Izturis in 2002, and the trade of Grudzielanek to the Chicago Cubs in December of the same year, Cora spent the rest of his stint with the Dodgers as their primary second baseman.