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In February, Alex Cora pledged that he’d donate $20,000 to The Jimmy Fund if a Red Sox player hit 20 home runs in 2026. He may have been fired in April, but that isn’t stopping Cora from following through on his pledge.
Cora confirmed Monday via text that he will stay true to his word and make the promised donation after first baseman Willson Contreras hit his 20th home run of the season Sunday night in Anaheim.
“Happy that it happened,” Cora said in a text to MassLive. “All we want to do is #KCancer. Honestly, that was an easy pledge. I trust my players. We need more people to join us!"
During spring training, team decision-makers were often questioned about where Boston’s power would come from in 2026. FanGraphs’ popular ZiPS projection system predicted that zero members of the lineup would clear the 20-homer mark, instead forecasting that Trevor Story, Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu would lead the way with 18 each. Cora repeatedly said he believed someone on his team would hit at least 20, and in a February 27 appearance on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show, put his money where his mouth is.
“I’ve got something for you guys,” Cora said during that appearance. “I always do a pledge for the Jimmy Fund, and I know the power thing is a theme in Boston. As soon as somebody hits 20 home runs, I’m gonna give $20,000 to the Jimmy Fund.”
While the power outage has been a real storyline of the first half for the 40-48 Red Sox — as of Monday, they rank last in the majors with 78 total homers — Contreras has exceeded expectations. He homered in back-to-back games over the weekend and is tied for sixth in the American League in that category. Jarren Duran ranks second on the team with 13.
Cora, who was fired along with a handful of his coaches on April 25 in Baltimore, has stayed active on social media since leaving the Red Sox. On June 14, he asked fans to match his home run pledge in a tweet/X post.
Those looking to donate to The Jimmy Fund can do so here.
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