Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
Alex Cora was among those who played a key role in the Houston Astros’ 2017 cheating scandal, with some reports saying he was the mastermind behind the operation.
Cora served as the Astros’ bench coach during the season, and he took over as the Boston Red Sox manager the following season.
After getting caught in the scandal, Cora expressed remorse for his actions.
However, it’s fair to question if he truly regretted taking part in it, or if he was more upset he was caught. After taking over as the Red Sox manager, Cora reportedly bragged about stealing the World Series from the Los Angeles Dodgers, via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald:
“We stole that (expletive) World Series,” Cora allegedly said.
The quote is from the upcoming book, “Winning Fixes Everything,” by Evan Drellich, The Athletic’s writer who worked with Ken Rosenthal to break the original story of the Astros’ cheating scandal.
Drellich goes on to report that Cora told the Red Sox players that they were aware of what pitches the Dodgers were throwing before they would even get players on base, which has long been the accepted way of stealing signs:
“We knew the Astros did [steal signs],” another member of the Red Sox told Drellich, “because Alex Cora told us. He said that when they played the Dodgers, ‘We already knew what everybody was throwing before we even got on base. We didn’t have to get on base.’ And everybody was like, ‘What the hell does that mean?’”
The Dodgers of course ended up losing that World Series to the Astros in seven games, which is quite remarkable they made it that far considering what they were playing against.
Although MLB commissioner Rob Manfred decided against taking the Astros’ championship away from them, many fans and players do not recognize the trophy as legit, including Joe Kelly, who is among the most outspoken players against that 2017 club.
Cora did end up parting ways with the Red Sox once the scandal broke and he received a suspension through the 2020 season for his role, but he returned to manage Boston once his suspension ended.
Alex Cora recruited Justin Turner to Red Sox
After nine years with the Dodgers and becoming a franchise icon, Justin Turner agreed to sign a two-year contract with the Red Sox after L.A. decided to move on from the 38-year-old.
Turner’s market reportedly grew to include interest from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins and the Red Sox. Along with some of Boston’s players, Cora reportedly played a role in recruiting Turner, who was of course a member of the 2017 Dodgers.
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