Following a suspension, Alex Cora returns as the Red Sox manager.
Cora led Boston to the 2018 World Series championship, but he was suspended as part of the Houston Astros’ cheating investigation.
Alex Cora guided the Boston Red Sox to the World Series championship in 2018. However, he missed the whole 2020 season after being punished for his role in the Houston Astros cheating scandal.
Despite Alex Cora’s resignation from the Boston Red Sox due to his involvement in the Houston Astros’ 2017 cheating scandal, his former colleagues spoke highly of him. Cora, after all, led the Red Sox to victory in the 2018 World Series.
“He was a wonderful manager for us on all levels, so we’re going to miss him,” Red Sox owner John Henry stated in January.
Sam Kennedy, the team’s president, described Cora as “an incredible talent,” and when asked about the potential of a second opportunity, added, “He’s apologized to us for the embarrassment that this caused.” We will see what happens when he goes through the rehabilitation procedure.
Ten months after Cora was fired, and with Major League Baseball’s 2020 ban being complete, the Red Sox announced on Friday evening that Cora, 45, had returned to his old job.
“This last year, I’ve had time to ponder and examine many things, and I realize how privileged I am to lead this club again,” Cora said in a team statement. “Not being able to participate in baseball, as well as the pain of drawing bad attention to my family and our company, was really painful. I apologize for the hurt my previous actions have caused, and I will work hard to make this company and its fans proud.
Cora, a former Houston bench coach, is the latest key character from the Astros’ tainted 2017 World Series title season to return to baseball.
The Detroit Tigers selected A.J. Hinch, Cora’s previous boss and Houston’s manager for the 2017 and 2018 seasons, to fill the vacant managerial position.
Former Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and Mets manager Carlos Beltran have yet to return to baseball after being named in MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s report.
Luhnow recently reaffirmed his innocence in a television interview. Luhnow, like Cora and Hinch, was suspended by Major League Baseball for the 2020 season; Beltran was not reprimanded. The Astros fired Luhnow and Hinch after Major League Baseball published their punishments.
Cora and Hinch were granted a second chance to lead teams due to their reputation as accomplished managers and their remorse for their participation in the Astros’ sign-stealing controversy.
Cora was prominently implicated in Manfred’s January study, which followed The Athletic’s November 2019 article detailing sign-stealing methods. A Major League Baseball inquiry awarded players immunity in exchange for testimony.
According to Manfred’s assessment, Cora arranged for a monitor displaying center-field camera footage to be positioned near the Astros’ bench.
At least one player would translate the opposition team’s signs, and when the catcher issued a sign, the batter would hear a sound — usually the banging of a baseball bat on a nearby garbage can — indicating the next pitch.
“Cora was involved in establishing both the banging scheme and employing the replay review room to decipher and convey signs,” Manfred stated in January. “Cora actively engaged in both plots, indirectly condoning the players’ actions.”
Shortly thereafter, the Red Sox and Cora “mutually agreed to split ways.” While Red Sox management said that Cora had conveyed contrition to them, Cora’s team-issued statement contained no apology or admission of wrongdoing. Cora thanked the team’s officials and described his two seasons with the Red Sox as “the happiest years of his life.”
Cora formally apologized in April, following the MLB investigation into the Red Sox’s alleged sign-stealing during the 2018 season.
He subsequently stated that he accepted “full responsibility” for his role in the Astros controversy and deemed the team’s collective conduct “unacceptable.”
M.L.B. did not sanction Cora for her role in Boston’s sign-stealing controversy, which Manfred described as “much more limited in scope and impact” than the one in Houston.
The Red Sox video replay operator, J.T. Watkins, was the sole individual formally penalized as a consequence of the investigation.
At the moment, however, Manfred confirmed Cora’s ban for the 2020 season for his involvement in the Astros’ sign-stealing.
During the 2019 season, the Red Sox fired Dave Dombrowski, their president of baseball operations, who had hired Cora and helped develop the 2018 championship-winning squad. Chaim Bloom succeeded Dombrowski and named Ron Roenicke, Cora’s bench coach, to manager for the 2020 season.
The Red Sox, who are rebuilding under Bloom, were one of the poorest teams in the majors this year, finishing 24-36 during the shortened season.
Before the final game of the season, the Red Sox informed Roenicke that he will not return as manager in 2021, reigniting suspicions that Cora might return.
“Cora is a fantastic manager and the ideal candidate to lead our team into 2021 and beyond,” Bloom said in a statement on Friday.
Bloom said the Red Sox had evaluated a variety of possibilities, and when Cora’s suspension ended last week, the two spoke, despite Bloom’s uncertainty about whether Cora was still a viable candidate for the position.
“Our chats were lengthy, passionate, and emotional,” Bloom explained. “Alex recognizes that what he did was wrong and regrets it.
My belief is that each candidate should be evaluated holistically, including their strengths and shortcomings, accomplishments and failures.
That’s what I did with Alex when making this decision. He loves the Red Sox and the game of baseball, so we feel he will capitalize on this second shot.”
