Boston Red Sox
“As soon as somebody hits 20 home runs, I’m gonna give $20,000 to the Jimmy Fund.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora has been generous with his time and money when it comes to the Jimmy Fund. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
February 27, 2026 | 5:17 PM
2 minutes to read
Alex Cora and the Red Sox organization are happy with the additions made to the team this past offseason, and appear content with the way spring training has unfolded.
There are a few question marks regarding the Opening Day roster and Boston’s starting lineup, including how the infield will ultimately shake out.
However, Cora feels good about the power potential the 2026 Red Sox have, which has been lacking in recent years.
He feels so good that he committed to donate $20,000 to the Jimmy Fund once a player reaches the 20-home run threshold.
“I got something for you guys,” Cora said during his appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” Friday. “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.”
“Are you serious?” Greg Hill asked.
“100 percent,” Cora replied. “That’s how sure we are that we’re gonna have power.”
The pledge would be Cora’s single largest public donation to the Jimmy Fund, a Boston-based organization with strong Red Sox ties that raises funds for cancer care and research at the city’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
In 2021, Boston’s skipper donated $113.13 for each win recorded by the club. The Red Sox won 92 regular season games, totaling $10,407.96. Cora also donated $13 for every run Boston scored that season; the team plated 829 runs, amounting to $10,777. The No. 13 theme coincides with his jersey number, which has been 13 dating back to his playing days.
In 2019, Cora auctioned off his 2018 “Wall Of Wins” for the Jimmy Fund. The photo wall consisted of 119 photos, one from each win of the Red Sox’ historic World Series-winning season. The gallery was housed in his office all season long to help memorialize that memorable year. It was valued at $300,000 before bidding began.
As for this year’s pledge, it will be interesting to see which player is the first to hit 20 long balls, and how quickly. Last season, only two Red Sox achieved the mark: Shortstop Trevor Story (25) and right fielder Wilyer Abreu (22). Story hit his 20th on Aug. 23, and Abreu hit his on July 20.
Rafael Devers only hit 15 for Boston before being traded in June, and third baseman Alex Bregman hit just 18 due to being sidelined with a quad injury for nearly two months.
Phenom outfielder Roman Anthony could very well be the first to hit 20 homers. Newcomer first baseman Willson Contreras has reached the mark six times in his 10-year MLB career. OF Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela each hit 16 in 2025, and catcher Carlos Narvaez hit 15 while dealing with an ankle injury dating back to the first series of the season.
Kaley Brown
Kaley Brown is a sports producer for Boston.com, where she covers the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.
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