Why Red Sox Bench Coach Got ‘Cold-Beer Shower’ Celebration After Win Over Mets

BOSTON — Red Sox bench Ramón Vázquez showed up to his postgame press conference after a 3-1 win over the New York Mets on Monday at Fenway Park with sandals and a towel.

It was attire that suggested a celebration had ensued in the Red Sox clubhouse with Vázquez managing Boston to a win in place of Alex Cora.

Vázquez confirmed as much as it certainly was an occasion worth marking for the 48-year-old, who got the reins of the Red Sox for one night with Cora absent to attend his daughter’s graduation from Boston College.

“I don’t know if it’s the first win or not. I’m not sure. I think it is,” Vázquez said. “It was a cold-beer shower in there. I’m still freezing.”

The celebratory moment came at a good time for the Red Sox, who came into Monday’s matchup with the Mets slumping, having lost five of their last six games.

“It’s always fun to have a little moment like that,” Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran said. “We’re fighting, we’re grinding right now, so to be able to have something like that, get our mind off everything is pretty awesome.”

Duran, who played for Vázquez in the Puerto Rican Winter League, said there wasn’t any difference with Cora not in the dugout and Vázquez in charge.

It was an opportunity long in the making for Vázquez, who bounced around from six teams during his nine-year MLB career from 2001-09. Vázquez even played 27 games for the Red Sox in 2005.

Vázquez got into coaching as a minor league instructor in the Houston Astros organization in 2014. He was there for a few seasons before joining the coaching staff of the San Diego Padres in 2017.

But then in 2018, Vázquez made his way to Boston to join Cora’s coaching contingent. Vázquez worked his way up the ladder and was promoted to the team’s bench coach in 2022, and has served in that role as Cora’s right-hand man ever since.

“This is a special place,” Vázquez said. “The fact that I was able to manage my first game in the big leagues with this organization and this ballpark, it makes it even more special.”

Vázquez isn’t looking to hold down the helm for another day, ready to pass the baton back to Cora, who is set to return Tuesday.

“I’ve officially retired as a manager,” Vázquez joked. “It’s exciting. Thank God it happened for me.”