Red Sox Manager Alex Cora is in the running for Manager Of The Year. After the season he had, it’s no question he should win it.
Alex Cora is probably the best addition that the Boston Red Sox added last offseason. From his introductory press conference to spring training, he made sure that everyone was on the same page.
The goal in Boston is championships, which Cora repeated throughout his press conferences, making people like him even more. Red Sox fans can finally say that they have a manager who gets it, that it’s not about the division wins it’s about the banners you raise. The acquisitions the Sox made in the offseason worked. Losing out on Giancarlo Stanton didn’t matter. When it got to spring training, Cora made sure everyone was together and on the same page like a family.
Cora is different from Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash and Athletics manager Bob Melvin in so many ways. One obvious reason is those other two managers didn’t have the success like Cora did this season. The second reason is from the beginning of spring training, the Sox were winning like crazy. That would continue with them going 17-2 in their first 19 games. The Sox destroyed the bad competition across the league and even the good competition. No other clubhouse had a connection like the Sox one has and that’s all thanks to Cora.
The Red Sox were the first team to100 wins but that didn’t matter to them, as there was still work to do. They won a franchise record 108 games but that didn’t matter either. They won the division again but they had questions that needed to be answered in the playoffs.
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Cora made sure they took it one series at a time. The Yankees beat the Athletics in the Wild Card game making them face the Sox in the ALDS. Cora kept his team humble when the series was tied 1-1 going into New York for Game Three. They took care of business after Cora made adjustments to his lineup by putting in Brock Holt, who had the game for his life when he hit for the cycle.
Every decision Cora made this season worked. Whether it was a substitution, putting a starting pitcher in a playoff game in the eighth inning. Or even admitting to the media and the players when he was wrong. No other manager did that this season, only Cora.
Winning the World Series as a first-time manager is something special. This team is young, talented, and willing to win every time they take the field. Cora puts that fight in them and trusts his guys that they’ll make the right plays. If they make a mistake he lets them know how to improve and be better so they don’t make it again. He’s what every manager should be, someone who has open communication with his players and wills them to go out every day and get a win. Cora gave confidence in his players which is something we saw in the playoffs.
Jackie Bradley Jr. had a great ALCS, winning the MVP of the series and a Gold Glove Award for the season. Joe Kelly pitched great in the postseason after struggling during the regular season. Finally, Nathan Eovaldi pitched an amazing six innings of relief in Game Three of the World Series. What’s even crazier is Eovaldi was in the bullpen the very next game ready to pitch Game Four.
That’s the spark Cora has put in this team. They never quit and want to keep fighting until the last out. That passion will also continue next season too. All those reasons above is why Cora should be the Manager Of The Year. He brought a division winning team into a championship team in a year.