Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora earns milestone win

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has turned winning into a habit

The Boston Red Sox broke out their big bats in Buffalo, launching 11 home runs to sweep the two games of a rain-shortened series with the Blue Jays. The latest victory not only gave them a share of the American League’s best record, it also served as a milestone for manager Alex Cora.

Wednesday night marked Cora’s 250th career win as manager of the Red Sox. He’s only the 14th manager to reach that win total with this franchise.

Cora’s .595 win percentage (250-170) is the highest in Red Sox history by a manager who served in the role for 400+ games. Even if you were to lower the criteria to 200+ games, Cora would still rank fourth and his win percentage would be the highest this franchise has seen since the early 1950s.

The Red Sox are on pace for 98 wins. At this rate, Cora would rack up another 40 victories this year, easily surpassing Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams (260 wins) and putting John McNamara (297) in his sights. Cora will coast into the top-10 on the franchise’s list of managerial wins by next season.

Those who played with the former Red Sox infielder had always believed that Cora had the chops to be a big league manager. His brilliant baseball mind and uncanny ability to connect with players made him qualified for the position despite his lack of experience. He proved it as a rookie manager in 2018 when he led the Red Sox to a franchise record 108 wins and a World Series title.

A World Series hangover bit the Red Sox in 2019. They stumbled out of the gate to dig themselves into a hole they couldn’t recover from, finishing the year with a modest 84 wins and a third-place finish in the division that kept them out of the playoff picture.

Cora sat out the shortened 2020 season while serving a suspension for his part in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal when he served as their bench coach in 2017. He mutually parted ways with the Red Sox in order to allow Ron Roenicke to manage without the shadow of Cora lurking over him.

Boston removed the interim tag from Roenicke but his status always felt temporary and his fate was sealed when the Red Sox finished with the fourth-worst record in the majors. The miserable season wasn’t Roenicke’s fault but it certainly made him easier to replace and Cora instantly became the front-runner as soon as his suspension was lifted.

Cora returned to the dugout this season and by no coincidence, the Red Sox returned to their winning ways. Boston enters the day with a 58-38 record, tied with the Chicago White Sox for the league’s best and one game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the competitive AL East.

Cora has a long way to go to catch Joe Cronin, who compiled a franchise-record 1071 wins over 13 seasons as manager of the Red Sox. Terry Francona (744) will always be in the conversation for the franchise’s best manager for ending an 86-year title drought and delivering two championships.

He’s managed this team for fewer than three full seasons but Cora is already making a case that he belongs in the elite class of Red Sox managers. If he sticks around long enough, he might even find himself at the top one day.