What makes Red Sox Manager Alex Cora different from John Farrell, Terry Francona

Red Sox Manager Alex Cora won a title in his first year. What makes him different from John Farrell andTerry Francona who also won titles their first year?

For the fourth time this century, the Boston Red Sox are World Series Champions. The Sox proved they were the team to beat all season. They completely dominated opponents day in and day out. As a manager, you need to have great communication, which Alex Cora has with his players. Cora is the third Red Sox manager to win a championship in his first season with the team. Terry Francona and John Farrell both won championships in their first years as managers of this franchise. But the question is, what makes Cora different from Farrell and Francona?

A few things from communication, in-game strategy, and owning a mistake he made.

Cora is different from Farrell and Francona by the way he communicates with his players and media. For example, when Francona got to the team they were already established and World Series contenders. From David Ortiz to Pedro Martinez, they had a great group of guys that had the desire to win, they just needed the right manager to help them get there. Francona was that guy coming in and really not letting anything get in the team’s way from their goal.

Francona was part of that great come back in the ’04 ALCS over the New York Yankees. His calmness and that whole team’s calmness was something special. Having Francona helped yes, but the Sox were already an established team of veteran talent. They just needed the right manager to win them a championship.

Then we have Farrell in 2013. Farrell came into a veteran team that just had a terrible season in 2012. The Boston Marathon Bombing that year really meant something to the baseball team. They wanted to win it all for the city to prove that it can overcome anything.

Really anybody could’ve managed that 2013 team. The Sox would listen to Farrell at the time because he was on the team as it’s pitching coach when Francona was managing the team. They just needed a guy familiar with the team who knew what he was doing. That person was Farrell.

What makes Cora different is he got to a team that was young, athletic and had the desire to win. From last October to today, he’s expressed all that matters are World Championships. He made adjustments, substitutions, and admitted when he was wrong more times than Farrell or Francona did in their first year. Honestly, I never heard Farrell or Francona admit they were wrong or admit they left someone on the mound too long.

Cora was willing to use his starting pitchers out of the bullpen in the postseason. He told the media that pitchers would text him to say they could pitch in the game after pitching the night before. How many times did Farrell or Francona ever say that publicly? If it did happen, neither would come out and say it publicly. This is what also makes Cora great by telling it like it is and not making up excuses.