Red Sox manager Alex Cora named Bostonian of the Year
Red Sox manager Alex Cora has been named Bostonian of the Year by the Boston Globe after leading his club to a World Series championship.
Alex Cora’s leadership from the beginning of spring training was something the Boston Red Sox were missing from John Farrell. They were missing that voice in the clubhouse that could get the player’s attention and give them the drive to win. From day one with Cora, it’s all about World Championships, not division wins.
His leadership and in-game management is mostly the reason why the Red Sox are champions. His success has rewarded him once again, as Cora was recently named Bostonian of the Year by the Boston Globe.
In the interview with the Globe, he talks about how he believes the Sox won the World Series after the Game Three extra-innings loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Honestly, I think we won the Series in that Game 3, I mean, game over,” said Cora. “There were three things that I clearly remember from that day. The ground ball to Ian (Kinsler), I’m there, sitting there, and David (Price) starts going out to celebrate in the 13th inning. When Ian makes the error, David is going out, and he throws the ball away, and he comes right up like, ‘Oh!’”
Game Three of the World Series was a classic and even though the Sox lost, they seemed to use the game as a motivator. Everyone was inspired by Nathan Eovaldi’s outstanding performance in the game on short rest. You even had players crying after the game because of the performance Eovaldi had. This is the type of influence Cora put on this team all season. To never quit and play to the final out.
“I went to a press conference and somebody asked me, ‘How do you guys bounce back from this devastating loss?’ I’m like, ‘What? Devastating? It’s a 2-1 series! It’s just one game.’ And then somebody asked me something in the same terms and I said, ‘We’ll see you tomorrow, we’ll show up tomorrow.’ And we did.”
Throughout the playoffs, Cora had the player’s attention and they all had the same goal. Brock Holt hit for the cycle in the division series against the New York Yankees and Jackie Bradley Jr. won ALCS MVP. Cora put Chris Sale and David Price in the bullpen to pitch in the eighth innings of games. All season long there was talk of Boston’s weak bullpen but Cora found a solution and boy did it work to his advantage. All season long we heard how bad Joe Kelly was, then he pitched a gem in the World Series when it mattered the most.
After the Red Sox had won Game Five, parents of the players were coming up to Cora thanking him for trusting their kid. That’s the vibe Cora has brought to this team and why he really should’ve won Manager Of The Year.
Cora also talked to the Boston Globe about in-game strategy during the World Series. The whole coaching staff made decisions as a group to do what’s best for the team. When Eduardo Nunez pinch-hit in Game One, then Rafael Devers pinch-hit in Game Three, it wasn’t about pushing the right buttons but being ready for every single moment of the game. Cora, I’m sure, had final say but it was talked about by the whole coaching staff.
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For 2019, Cora still has the same goal as 2018 – winning a World Championship. Some players will leave and some will stay but the goal remains the same. The Sox offseason started a month behind everyone else’s which is a great thing. However it gives less time to get ready for the 2019 season. I’m sure Cora will have them ready to go so they can go on another Championship run.