Red Sox rehire Alex Cora as manager
The Red Sox weren't fooling anybody, nor did they try to.
Alex Cora is coming back as the next manager of the Red Sox, the club confirmed late on Friday. He will return with a two-year contract through the 2022 season with a twoyear club option for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Cora, the 46th person to manage the Red Sox, joins Bill Carrigan (1913' 16, '27-'29), Pinky Higgins ('55-'59, '60-'62) and Johnny Pesky ('63-'64, '80) as the only men to get a second chance as the Sox' manager.
All along, the path was paved for Cora to return after he and the club mutually decided to part ways in
January following a detailed investigation by MLB that pinned the 2017 Astros' sign-stealing scandal almost entirely on him. He served a year suspension that was lifted after the completion of the World Series last week and is now eligible to work in baseball again.
"I am grateful for the opportunity to manage once again and return to the game I have loved my entire life," Cora said in a statement. "This past year, I have had time to reflect and evaluate many things, and I recognize how fortunate I am to lead this team once again. Not being a part of the game of baseball, and the pain of bringing negative attention to my family and this organization was extremely difficult. I am sorry for the harm my past actions have caused and will work hard to make this organization and its fans proud."
A press conference is scheduled for early next week.
The scar on Cora isn't as bad as it seems in the baseball world, with other managers and baseball executives throughout the game voicing their acceptance for Cora, A.J. Hinch and others found guilty in the '17 Astros scandal to return to the game after their due punishment was served. Hinch was hired to be the Detroit Tigers' new manager last week.
"Alex Cora is an outstanding manager, and the right person to lead our club into 2021 and beyond," Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom
said in a statement. "The way he leads, inspires, and connects with everyone around him is almost unmatched, and he has incredible baseball acumen and feel for the game. ...
"Our conversations were lengthy, intense, and emotional. Alex knows that what he did was wrong, and he regrets it. My belief is that every candidate should be considered in full: strengths and weaknesses, accomplishments and failures. That is what I did with Alex in making this choice. He loves the Red Sox and the game of baseball, and because of that we believe he will make good on this second chance. I join our whole organization in welcoming Alex back to Boston and Fenway Park."
Cora led the franchise to a historic 108- win season and World Series title in 2018, his first year as an MLB manager.
His 2019 season was disappointing, with the team winning just 84 games, and Cora faced some well- deserved questions over whether or not his club got complacent after their dominant season the year before.
But the manager's success was enough to earn him a re- negotiated contract after the 2018 World Series, and all indications were that he'd be the long-term skipper in Boston until last winter, when The Athletic reported a detailed sign-stealing scheme used by the 2017 Astros.
The Red Sox have been careful not to badmouth Cora at all, not even when they parted ways with him in January.
"We've had open and honest discussions with Alex, but we're going to keep those private," president Sam Kennedy said at the time.
This spring, the Sox decided to name Cora's bench coach, Ron Roenicke, the interim manager for the 2020 season in Cora's absence.
The hire of Roenicke was largely seen as a seat-warmer for Cora. The players were vocal about their desire for Roenicke, Cora's bench coach who represented continuity in the clubhouse. And it had largely the same feel during spring training under Roenicke as it did under Cora one year earlier.
There were no reporters allowed in the clubhouse during the pandemic-shortened regular season that began in late July, making it difficult to gauge the environment. But all indications were that the clubhouse continued to be a players-first atmosphere, with Roenicke giving the players a lot of freedom, as did Cora.
In truth, it didn't matter how Roenicke's team performed.