Cora, Sox ‘part ways’
Couldn’t ‘effectively’ lead club, team says
It would be wrong to look back on the Red Sox’ hiring of Alex Cora as a mistake.
He rallied the fanbase, brought electricity back to Fenway Park and led them to a historic season and World Series title in 2018. He connected with his players, managed with pride and fought for his native Puerto Rico,
Unfortunately, John Henry and Co. had little choice but to move on.
The Red Sox and Cora parted ways on Tuesday night. The decision was mutual, according to a statement from Cora, principal owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Sam Kennedy.
It follows a damning ninepage report from Major League Baseball after it completed a two-month investigation that concluded Cora was the mastermind behind the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal in 2017. Cora is also under investigation for similar accusations against the 2018 Red Sox and is awaiting discipline from commissioner Rob Manfred.
The owners met with
Cora on Tuesday.
“Given the findings and the Commissioner’s ruling, we collectively decided that it would not be possible for Alex to effectively lead the club going forward and we mutually agreed to part ways,” the club said.
Henry, Werner and Kennedy called it a “sad day” for the Red Sox, who almost certainly would’ve had to find a replacement manager for at least 2020 and perhaps beyond due to Manfred’s pending discipline.
“Alex is a special person and a beloved member of the Red Sox,” they wrote. “We are grateful for his impact on our franchise. We will miss his passion, his energy and his significant contributions to the communities of New England and Puerto Rico.”
Cora did not mention the investigation in his brief statement saying goodbye.
“I want to thank John, Tom, Sam, the players, our coaching staff and the entire Red Sox organization,” Cora wrote. “I especially want to thank my family for their love and support.
“We agreed (Tuesday) that parting ways was the best thing for the organization. I do not want to be a distraction to the Red Sox as they move forward. My two years as manager were the best years of my life. It was an honor to manage these teams and help bring a World Series Championship back to Boston. I will forever be indebted to the organization and the fans who supported me as a player, a manager and in my efforts to help Puerto Rico.
“This is a special place. There is nothing like it in all of baseball, and I will miss it dearly.”
The Red Sox will hold a formal press conference at Fenway Park at 1 p.m. today.
Cora will be remembered for taking over for John Farrell
when his voice had gone stale and his managerial style outdated. He brought life to his press conferences, was honest and revealing about his strategies and communicated with his players.
Under his leadership, Mookie Betts became the American League MVP, Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts look like franchise cornerstones and Eduardo Rodriguez and Christian Vazquez finally broke through their shells.
Cora had a great roster in 2018, but made it look even better the way he managed.
Unfortunately, his confidence to ignore Manfred’s bold warnings that using technology to steal signs would result in harsh punishment may have ended his career.
Cora helped create the Astros’ trash-can-banging scheme in 2017, when he had a monitor installed next to the dugout. And according to The Athletic’s report on the 2018 Red Sox, Cora made a similar plan with his new team, using the replay review room to decode signs and relay them to the batters.
When Cora first arrived in 2018 and became the team’s first-ever minority manager, he promised the Red Sox offense would “do damage.”
“How you do that is getting a pitch that is available and putting a good swing on it early in the count, or wherever in the count, and do damage with it,” Cora said.
He turned the Red Sox into an aggressive offense that scored an MLB-high 5.4 runs per game while hitting a remarkable .282 with an .829 OPS at Fenway Park (they hit .255 with a .756 OPS on the road) and .289 with an .872 OPS with runners in scoring position.
“This city, everybody wants to win a world championship,” Cora said when he was hired. “For that to happen, my goal is for this team to pay attention to details, show up every day and try to take advantage of certain situations during the game.”
The Red Sox may have taken advantage of too many situations.
And in the end, it cost Cora his job.