Puerto Rico native Rivera-Cotto reflects on Hurricane Maria, life in Midwest

Abdiel Rivera-Cotto desperately wanted to focus on his international business studies and baseball in late September last year. It was futile. As Hurricane Maria laid waste to Puerto Rico — dumping nearly 38 inches of rain on his hometown of Caguas, the most any location on the Caribbean island nation received — what Rivera-Cotto wanted even more desperately was a phone call from his mother, Liz.