Flores could empathize with Maddie, because he, too, was once told that he had cancer. During his annual physical examination prior to Spring Training in 2023, Flores had a perfect bill of health, except for one issue that required a few additional tests. One of them revealed a tumor in his bladder. The Puerto Rico native underwent surgery to remove the mass shortly after, and five months later, was declared cancer free. Before the final week of the 2023 season, Flores credited doctors for their diligence. “There’s always a chance that it could come back, but at least I’m aware that it’s a possibility,” he said. “I’m just so thankful everything went the way it went and I’m able to be here with the club.” An extremely positive person affectionately known simply as “Flo”,
he easily formed a special bond with Maddie in their time together. “We clicked really well,” he said. “She wanted to take fielding lessons with me, and I showed her how to throw the ball and catch ground balls.” Flores, who was promoted to Boston for the 2025 season as the Red Sox first base and infield coach, is a baseball lifer, having played professionally for five seasons and spending more than 20 years as a coach or manager. Before being hired as bench coach of the WooSox in 2021, Flo was the Minor League infield coordinator for the Chicago Cubs, first base coach for the Philadelphia Phillies, and third base coach for the Baltimore Orioles. He also managed in the Puerto Rico Baseball Federation–– where he won four national titles with the Cidra Bravos––and served on the coaching staff of the Puerto Rico National Team. With a lifetime of baseball experience, Maddie could take any instruction she learned from Flores on the baseball field as gospel. But those weren’t the lessons that truly mattered. There’s not much one can do to ease the pain of the inevitable end––much less for someone who had an entire life in front of them. While it was only a day, Flores and the WooSox did everything they could to take the daily burden away from Maddie. “Helping her forget about her pain and the struggles that she went through on a daily basis––that pretty much made the whole day,”
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