BOSTON -- David Ortiz and Pedro Martinez, two of the best players to ever wear a Red Sox uniform, are equally bullish on the selection of Alex Cora as the 46th manager in club history.
Ortiz won a World Series ring with Cora in 2007 and can't wait to see how his former teammate adapts as a first-year manager.
As far back as a decade ago, Ortiz envisioned that Cora, 42, would one day be managing at the highest level.
"Oh yeah, because he paid attention to all the details," Ortiz said. "If you watched the video of when we were playing, he was always just looking around when he wasn't playing. This is a guy, he is extremely smart. With Alex being that talented and being that young, a lot of wonderful things are going to happen around here, especially with younger players."

Though Martinez missed being Cora's teammate by just one year with both the Red Sox and Mets, he knows enough about him to be highly confident he will succeed.
"I think it's great, not only for the organization to have the first minority manager but also for Alex Cora," Martinez said. "I think it's a great achievement. He's young, smart, intelligent. I think he will adjust really well to the different things that we have.
"The way baseball is trending right now, he's a perfect fit. I think his communications with players and his experience is going to help him out. Plus the core behind him, including me, will be a great help to the entire staff."
Ortiz and Martinez are both on board to give Cora whatever kind of assistance he needs.
"That's my boy. I already told him I'm down for whatever he needs," Ortiz said.
The way Ortiz and Martinez look at it, Cora will be the perfect manager to help blend the different cultures in the clubhouse.
"I believe that's going to help because now the communication is going to be even better," Ortiz said. "They're going to be speaking the same language so there won't be any misunderstandings. I think it's wonderful."
The Red Sox will hold Cora's introductory news conference as manager on Monday at Fenway Park. The team officially announced his hiring just prior to the World Series.