We're going to be seeing that smile once again as the Red Sox have officially re-hired Alex Cora as the team's manager. A decision that eventually will be tabled as controversial among most baseball analysts but for the situation that the Red Sox are in currently, this maybe the smartest move for the organization has made to this point and it's reported that Alex Cora is happy to be back as Red Sox manager.
MLB Networks Jon Heyman was the now who reported the news of Cora coming back. On Thursday, Heyman tweeted that Sam Fuld was going to be a serious chance as earning the title of manager himself. Eventually, Bloom did indeed make a decision and his decision is now that will definitely get the approval of ownership.
The Red Sox first hired Alex Cora back in November of 2017 after he served as the Houston Astros bench coach for that season and earned a World Series championship for that. Cora's first season with the Red Sox was an absolute blast as the team went 108-54, and lead the team to their fourth World Series Title in 16 years. 2019 wasn't great as the the Red Sox finished 84-78, third in the AL East.
Back in January when it was announced that the Houston Astros did in fact get caught red handed for their Sign-Stealing cheating scandal that rocked the baseball world to the core. Now, Cora's name was mentioned in the report as the being the mastermind behind it all. He was accused of leading the players throughout the entire scandal and the jettisoned off to Boston as soon as the manager spot came available and left before he could get caught.
Unfortunately Cora did get caught. Before Cora's suspension was even announced, the Red Sox were under investigation of a sign-stealing scandal of their own. In January, the Red Sox and Cora "mutually agreed" to part ways in the light of the Astros punishment being handed down and the while under investigation of their own.
The good news for Cora there was, it was found out to be that Cora had zero involvement in the scandal the Red Sox were under. The players were unaware and so the rest of the coaching staff. And just to add, former Chief of Baseball Operations Dave Dombroski had zero knowledge of the situation. The MLB report indicated that in was only select games in 2018 but none of the games were the postseason. So again, it was found that the Red Sox did cheat, but it was consistent or egregious as what Houston did
That spelled good news for Cora, as he was acquitted for the Red Sox, but still had to serve a one-year ban himself for his role in Houston's sign stealing scandal, a suspension that he accepted without any hesitation. However, back in April, rumors were already swirling that Cora would return in 2021 while Roenicke would just have the interim tag.
The 2020 season was an abysmal one for the Red Sox. yes it was only a 60-game season, but still not great to watch. On September 27th, Ron Roenicke was fired as Red Sox mater after the team went 24-36 in 2020. After the firing, it was already rumored that Cora was going to come back as manager of the Boston Red Sox. However, the Sox kept their desire to bring back Cora under the rug and allowed for other candidates to interview. The Sox did in fact interview at least 10 candidates before Cora's suspension was over.
Tuesday October 27, was the night that Alex Cora's suspension officially ended after the Dodger won the World Series. During the rest of that week, Cora and Sox had reportedly been in contact multiple times before Bloom and GM Brian O'Halloran flew to Puerto Rico and met with Cora personally.
Flash forward approximately one week and the here we are. Alex Cora is back as the manger. Still unclear on the details of how long this decision is for. I can imagine that it would be a one-year prove it or lose type of deal.
Anyway, a move that not many will like, but for players, they should be jumping for joy as they got their manager back.
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