It took months to announce a decision, but Major League Baseball finally handed down its punishment Wednesday for Boston’s sign-stealing violations in 2018. Former manager Alex Cora, whom the Red Sox parted with in January, received a suspension for the entire 2020 campaign. However, Cora’s ban came as a result of his wrongdoing as the Astros’ bench coach in 2017 – not anything he did in Boston.
We don’t even know if a season will occur because of the coronavirus pandemic, so Cora may not miss much this year. The onetime World Series-winning skipper reacted to the league’s decision after it came down, though, and the entire statement is available on Twitter by way of his agency, MDR Sports Management.
“I am relieved that these MLB investigations are concluded and that Commissioner Rob Manfred has released his finding that I did not violate any MLB rules as a member of the Red Sox organization in 2018 or 2019,” said Cora. He added that he takes “full responsibility” for his part in the Astros’ 2017 violations and called them “unacceptable.”
Cora won’t be eligible to manage again for another season, but he was rather successful in that role in his two years with the Red Sox. The team went 192-132 during that span and, as mentioned, won a championship. They’ve since committed to Cora’s former bench coach, Ron Roenicke, as their manager for at least a year. But would the Red Sox consider pivoting back to Cora when his suspension expires? That doesn’t seem likely.
“All the reasons that we parted ways with him there are still the case,” chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Wednesday (via Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe).
Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said they “wish him well,” but “nothing’s changed“ in regards to why the club let go of Cora.
Still just 44 years old, Cora may well resurface as a major league manager, but it doesn’t appear that will happen in Boston.
Do the Red Sox still have to pay him for 2020?
I doubt it. Supposedly he wasn’t technically fired, there was a “mutual parting of the ways.” My guess is there was a morals clause in his contract.
He was giving an unpaid suspension
But there was some talk that because he was fired before the suspension was officially handed down they still have to pay him.
Now that upsets me! I love Cora n hope he’s rehired when he’s eligible. I hope the RS think bout that n rehire him. Cora m age mistakes, and I hope he’s thought about them during this time off. The players need him, n the fans want him too. Bring back Cora!
Cora should be banned from baseball. What he did was way way worse than what Copolella did.
Shut up dummy!
Kevin, we’ve told you before to stop yelling at yourself and calling yourself names, however fitting they may be.
amen!
Astros intern came up with cheating idea called “codebreaker” in 2016 which was used for the 2017 and 2018. Cora wasn’t with the astros in 2016 and was with the red sox in 2018. Why should cora be banned?
Nameless Astros intern. Convenient. Probably not a true story but a story used to save people’s behinds.
i buy the intern suggested the idea, but to blame the guy that meerly floated the idea is absurd. said intern had no power to actually implement his ideas. whoever put them in place is the most culpable.
Codebreaker wasn’t against the rules…
what Coppy did was much more nefarious as far as the actual legal nature of it.
Yet no governing authority has levied any legal ramifications against him. In terms of baseball, he never directly affected the outcomes of the games like HOU did.
I agree. Cora should be banned
“Cora should be banned from baseball. What he did was way way worse than what Copolella did.”
While I agree, why compare? Wrong is wrong.
I am glad Cora’s gone. A lot of what happened in 2019 falls on his shoulders. I believe he allowed the clubhouse to fracture by not insisting that they stick together and either all go to the White House (the right thing to do) or all boycott the visit. Just my opinion, but despite the injuries, there was something ‘missing’ all season long.
Cora’s spring plan was absurd. He did not give pitchers and batters normal spring workloads to get them ready for the new season. He acted like the team was so good that they absolutely could not lose. His whole attitude toward the season was the reverse of 2018.
It seemed he was distracted by Puerto Rico and who was going to the White House more than managing…..glad he is gone and I am a Red Sox fan of 50 years.
… good points, 4W.
How wonderful to be a Sox fan these days! Get rid of a WS winning manager because you didn’t like his spring routines! Ha! Ha!
When you don’t prepare a team properly for a baseball season it doesn’t matter how many championships you have won. Get your team ready for opening day is a basic for any manager. Cora needs no defending.
I agree with your points on spring training. That experiment did not go to plan. However pointing to the White House visit and Hurricane Maria appear shortsighted.
Same
No, he was forced out because he crossed the line and his true character came out.
Based on what happened with Eovaldi, Sale and evening Price to a lesser extent, Cora was right to limit their activity in the Spring of 2019. Sale & Eovaldi were both shot after the 2018 championship run. Putting them out there for a full spring would have only accelerated their breaking down earlier in the season. With 3 injured key SPs, the Red Sox has zero chance of competing in 2019. He did the right thing there.
Go visit that madman, you can’t force players to do that
He was such a loser in the press conferences that I don’t care to ever bring him back.
Agreed.
Pasha – I am sure Roenicki will do a fine job. You will still see Cora as I bet he will probably be back of TV with A-Rod
Sorry Pashka but I’m hopefully done with spitting sunflower seeds. That said, what the Sox say now means nothing if and when they make another managerial change.
Sorry Pashka but I’m done with spitting sunflower seeds. That said, what the Sox say now means nothing if and when they make another managerial change.
don’t put all fans together because as a Red Sox fan Cora doesn’t deserve to be in Boston anymore period…
@pasha2k
Boston is not taking him back do deal with it
If my favorite team hires him you can be sure I will boycott and withhold my dollars.
here’s hoping they do.
You can’t use your EBT card to buy anything but food you big dummy
Cmon Halo! The unemployment checks have been ringing in for Hot-Air-o-lista! Don’t forget the nice little $1200 stimulus bonus on top of that!
Beisbolista has already bought 4 pair of Giancarlo Stanton game worn socks with the money! Rumor has it that Stanton was only healthy long enough to wear those 4 pair in 2019!
Halo tried and failed a week ago with his card.
Stanton hasn’t played four games. Or did he change his socks every inning?
Halo you are rude
Cora’s re-hiring would’ve been Highly unlikely even if Bloom has initially hired him. The chance that Bloom would stake his record as GM on re-hiring another GM’s disgraced former manager is practically nil.
This man has no remorse for being a leader of a team where several players cheated. He claims total innocence because he individually didn’t violate any of the rules. Based on the large amount of sympathy for Cora I’m reading about, I either totally misunderstand the role of a baseball manager (leader of the team) or I’m out of touch with what society expects of its organizational leaders
Cora wasn’t manager of the Astros, he was a coach. As manager of the Red Sox, he was not involved in “sign-stealing.” Is there anything else about Manfred’s words or basic facts you don’t understand? As it is, Manfred threw a minor Red Sox employee under the bus because he didn’t have a case otherwise. Cora was part of a toxic Houston organization, while the Boston administration was exonerated. And, if you’re going to start talking about “what society expects of its organizational leaders,” you’d better prepare a pretty good defense in light of the criminality of almost every U. S. politician, its military, the U. S. Supreme Court, etc. You brought it up, so yes, I’ll agree that you’re really out of touch.
Manfred didn’t deny certain Red Sox players cheated via this system. Of course he tries to muddle this in the report, but certain players clearly sought out the video guy mid game to cheat (or allowed the video guy to give them unsolicited information they knew they shouldn’t be getting mid game). Cora being a manager of a team of cheaters is a 100% accurate statement. And I guess you’re right, I’m only 23 and too much of an idealist. Probably only a matter of time before I experience a boss or leader who is slightly unethical but the company is doing great and he still gives my coworkers and I raises so we love him. Hopefully not but people tend to be massive hypocrites, just got to hope I don’t become one of them
harms, don’t hope you don’t become one, make sure you don’t. It’s not that hard if you try. You can look in the mirror and be happy, others can’t. Good Luck
Coach = a leader in the clubhouse. Not THE leader, but a leader nonetheless. As a manager in Boston, whether he was involved or not is irrelevant; he either knew about it and encouraged it or didn’t know about it, making him the stupidest manager to ever win a World Series ring.
So lemme understand this..
Gambling on baseball, lifetime ban.
Cheating at baseball, season ban.
Interesting stuff.
Yes, of course we can’t let anyone ruin Draft Kings gambling business. LOL
Pete Rose will one day be in the hall and certainly deserves it
Hope MLB put Rose in the HOF before he is dead. I can not stand the guy, but he deserves to be there as a player.
They should put Rose in the HOF right away. He just turned 79 he has paid long enough. After these weak judgments from Manfred for cheating it just makes sense. All time hits leader banned for 30 years that seems fair to me. Bonds and Clemens got free passes.
Let me help you understand. Signing your name agreeing with the ban matters.
gutless manfred! the worst commish ever!
“Please, please believe that I was integral to a sign stealing scheme in 2017 but quit in 2018.”
To be fair, more believable than Papi being clean.
Cheater
Manfred is a joke and MLB suffers under this clown. I have lost all respect for MLB.
2 organizations cheated, common denominator? 1 sleazeball. Should have been banned for life.
Cora’s arrogance makes me want to puke! What a psychopath. A prudent person would shut up, while he is trying to toot his horn and save his reputation. We might think he had some remorse if he remained silent. Regardless, he should never be allowed to manage a baseball team ever again, not even little league. That’s the reasonable thing to do when an assistant coach designed a sign stealing scheme, facilitating it, giving players the pitches before the ball is released, violating trust on such a massive level. I am on the fence to let AJ Hinch manage again after sitting there and doing nothing with all that garbage can banging, while Cora made sure the can was properly hit. Disgraceful.
I shouldn’t say that about another fallible person. He could be remorseful. Regardless, no one in their right mind would hand him the keys to run a baseball team, just as we wouldn’t allow a repentant Hitler to run a country or a repentant Jeffrey Epstein around children. Some mistakes are that costly.
Alex Cora is a jerk, but not anywhere close to the evil of Hitler or Epstein. You might want to rethink your examples there.
The point isn’t that he is as “bad” as them or that what he did is as bad. Either I wasn’t clear or your reasoning skills lack. The point is that certain decisions have eternal consequences, forever losing a particular privilege and responsibility. Extreme examples make that point for everyone to accept. We could use other modern examples. For instance, will someone who embezzled lots of money have the ability to get a law license, even if they prove they are absolutely remorseful and completely changed? The answer is no. No licensing body, nor will even a law school admit such a person. For you to suggest that Cora’s actions are not “as bad” within the baseball context makes me think you don’t believe some actions are disqualifying or that his don’t cross that line? Maybe it’s where we draw the line? I think his level of cheating and responsibility in the cheating is as clear as the repentant Hitler example. The first question is whether there anything a person can do to be prohibited from ever coaching or managing again. The second is where we draw the line. I am torn with Hinch. Although sitting there and hearing the banging and saying nothing is bad, it’s not the same as what Cora did, and I would probably hire Hinch again. After understanding what transpired, I don’t think Cora should ever manage again. The Redsox acknowledge that. If that is not where we draw the line, than there are no lines. Similarly, I argue that Pete Rose deserves the HOF because they could not prove he ever bet against his team. A 20 plus year ban is enough punishment for what he did. We might disagree with line drawing, but I don’t think we disagree with the former point that you have a hard time seeing.
So dramatic.
By the way, some points are made with emphasis and “dramatic” fashion or people confuse what you’re saying.
Seriously Cora, go cheat in some other country..you’re a stain to major league baseball – enjoy that legacy!
Alex Cora took 2 championships away from the Dodgers! That cheater should be banned from baseball! He created a scheme that obviously has a 100% advantage against there opponent. The back to back rings show it.
Lmao! Did you watch the 2018 World Series?
bucky dent knew what pitch torrez was going to throw in the 1978 playoff game because billy martin was a cheater. bucky faked an injury so torrez wouldn’t throw a pitch for about a minute (enough time for the yankees to decode the sign sequence) and then munson relayed the sign from second base that martin flashed him from the dugout. steingrabber had cameras installed in fenway park for the playoff game so they could cheat and win.
Martin was fired mid season in 1978. He wasn’t managing. Thank you for the fake news.
And chambliss was on second, not munson. Did you think I was being serious? Good lord.
“It’s totally ok for me to murder my wife because a dead guy I didn’t like murdered his wife forty-five years ago.” That is some impressive moral calculus there, Sparky.
Hey everyone! We got ourselves a regular Bertrand Russell here!
Cora is done as a manager. Maybe a coach somewhere in the future
I’m not advocating for using centerfield cameras or any other off the field method of stealing signs but sign stealing is part of the game, if you think your favorite team isn’t looking for ways to do it then you are extremely naive.
I’m not advocating for using centerfield cameras or any other off the field method of stealing signs but sign stealing is part of the game, if you think your favorite team isn’t looking for ways to do it then you are extremely naive. Get over it.
“Get over it” is the height of naïveté. Sophisticated and deeply planned use of technology to steal signs is way beyond the hitting team’s bench yelling “I got it!” on a pop fly. Stealing signs does not violate any explicit MLB rule, but using these means quite clearly does. Bad manners or breaking the unwritten rules is one thing, but this is very different.
The level at which the Astros and the Red Sox cheated seriously decays the competitive legitimacy the sport, it so much because of tilting the playing field in their favor, but because it flagrantly flaunts the actual rules of competition. No competitive sport can survive that in the long run.
I’m sorry but what the Red Sox did is not even in the same stratosphere as to what Houston did. Every MLB team reviews game tapes to decode pitch sequences and signs and then trains the players on how to decode these themselves while on base. With a majority of teams having their primary sign decoder in the replay room, I can guarantee that at least 50% of other MLB teams did the exact same thing during games. They ‘updated’ their pitch sequencing in game and relayed this to the players so when they reached 2nd base they could try to decode the signs with more accurate information. This is so easy for opposing teams to counteract by constantly changing their signs in game that you have to wonder how much this even helped vs. possibly providing wrong information to the hitters. I’m surprised the Red Sox even lost a draft pick for this. One thing is for sure, the message has been sent loud and clear to the other teams to stop doing this in games, so hopefully this will result in a level playing field going forward. Sign stealing will remain an important part of baseball going forward; it will just have to be done on ‘day old’ information going forward.
Did the Red Sox use electronic means in direct violation of specific MLB rules?
All I know is R.S.Nation didn’t have this kind of trouble when Zim, Mac and Grady was managing………………
Cora was one of the few lowest paid managers. Bumbling owner Henry thought he had a great deal.