Red Sox’s Cora puts players 1st

When Alex Cora BOSTON — was hired to manage the Red Sox a year ago, he knew he wanted to put relationships with his players first.

It made him a success as general manager of Puerto Rico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, again as a GM and manager in the Puerto Rican Winter League and as bench coach for the Houston Astros during their World Series title run last season.

Cora was toting those lessons with him when he arrived at spring training to find a talented, young Boston team in need of a new voice following back-to-back

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Game 1: Today, 8:09 p.m. Game 2: Wed., 8:09 p.m. Game 3: Fri., 8:09 p.m. Game 4: Sat., 8:09 p.m. *Game 5: Sun., 8:15 p.m. *Game 6: Oct. 30, 8:09 p.m. *Game 7: Oct. 31, 8:09 p.m. *If necessary early exits from the postseason. He made his new team a promise during their first meeting. “I told them no matter what I was going to strive to be genuine and accessible,” Cora said.

Six months later, the 43-year-old has remade the culture of the Red Sox clubhouse by taking a player-centric approach that pointed them toward a franchise-record 108 wins in the regular season.

It’s continued in the playoffs with an AL Division Series victory over the Yankees and an AL Championship Series win over the Astros that has Boston back in the World Series for the first time since 2013. With four victories over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cora can become the fifth manager to win the championship in his first season, joining Bob Brenly (Arizona, 2001), Ralph Houk (Yankees, 1961), Eddie Dyer (Cardinals, 1946) and Bucky Harris (Washington Senators, 1924).