Cora ready to ring in a new job with Sox

LOS ANGELES — In just a few days, Alex Cora will be introduced as the Red Sox next manager, but for one last night — in the middle of one wild celebration — he was still the Astros bench coach.

And it was hard to imagine anything better than that.

“I’m going to enjoy this one,” Cora said after the Astros World Series win Wednesday night. “And then everybody knows what’s coming in the next few days, but this one I’m going to enjoy.”

Of course, the joy has a shelf life.

“Hopefully they suck next year,” he said.

And with that, Cora let out a booming laugh that could only come from a man who really did have his cake and eat it too.

His only season as a major league bench coach ended with absolute perfection: a World Series ring and a manager’s office at Fenway Park.

What’s next is uncharted territory. Cora, 42, has never managed in the big leagues, but it’s hard to imagine a better final step into that challenge.

“Yeah, it means a lot,” Cora said. “Because I was locked in with these guys. They know. They know it. The long nights, the long days at the stadium, learning and talking to them, and doing everything possible to put them in a situation to be successful. They knew it. The good thing about this group, they know what’s coming, and they’re happy for me. And I appreciate that. I’m proud of them. I’m going to miss them, but it’s a new chapter in my life.”

Cora won’t bring Jose Altuve with him. He won’t bring Dallas Keuchel or George Springer or Alex Bregman, either. But he’ll bring 14 years of playing experience, first-hand knowledge of the Boston landscape, and he’ll bring the lessons of this championship season with the Astros.

He’ll bring that feeling of

standing in the middle of the infield grass at Dodger Stadium, surrounded by his players and his family, knowing what it took to get there.

“I’m going to bring a ring, and that’s the most important thing,” he said.

Cora’s final mentor was Astros manager A.J. Hinch. Like Cora, Hinch has a reputation for analytic analysis, strong communication skills, and first-hand knowledge of the game. Cora saw Hinch as a manager cut from the same cloth as Terry Francona, one of the most successful managers in Red Sox history.

“A.J. Hinch is a great leader,” Cora said. “I’m very proud of what he has accomplished. Sometimes he doesn’t get the credit he deserves, honestly, and this guy, he’s one of the best. Just like Tito. I always tell him, he should talk to Tito more often because Tito went through the same situation. He goes to Philly as a young manager and it didn’t work out, and then he gets a second chance and he learned from the first experience, and now look at him. This guy is going to be very successful.”

Can Cora be so successful? Time will tell, of course. He certainly set a high bar for himself, but he said he learned from it. He gained a fresh appreciation and understanding by sitting just one spot away from the manager’s chair.

“It’s a lot different (from the bench),” he said. “As a player, you’ve got your situations. You know when you’re coming in, especially in the situation I was in (as) a utility guy, double switches, this and that, play defense. Now, you have to pay attention to all that stuff. But, honestly, I think the group that we have, we were able to slow down the game.”

If Cora is lucky, time will move that slowly for just a few more days. A parade in Houston. A night or two at home with his family. And, inevitably, an introductory press conference in Boston so that his next job can begin.

Cora knows where he’s been, and he knows where he’s going. For right now, he’s just trying to enjoy what’s left in between.

As he put it: “What a year, huh?”

‘I’m going to bring a ring, and that’s the most important thing.’ — ALEX CORA On what he brings to Sox