Red Sox: Alex Cora getting snubbed for Manager of the Year is ridiculous

Red Sox skipper gets snubbed for Manager of the Year

It’s award season, Red Sox Nation, and sadly our guys didn’t find themselves considered for many of them. While we did see some members of the roster become finalists, they won’t be bringing home any extra silverware. One award that felt like it should’ve been a lock, at least for a nomination, was Alex Cora and the AL Manager of the Year.

Well, the finalists were announced yesterday afternoon and somehow the fine folks of the BBWAA seemed to have forgotten about AC. The three managers on the American League side of things are Dusty Baker, Kevin Cash, and Scott Servais. When I saw the finalists announced I had to take a second and really soak in the faces I was seeing. It’s been nearly 24 hours and I still can’t come to a rational explanation for Cora’s absence.

I’m going to start with the most egregious name on this list, Dusty Baker. I fully believe he was a finalist because of his stature in the sport and his legacy. He manages a team that has been to the ALCS every year since 2017, has seen three World Series berths, and won it all in 2017. No, he hasn’t managed the Astros for all of that success but he took over in 2020 and the success that was seen under AJ Hinch continued without any hiccups.

What exactly did he do that made this team better? What changed under his management that allowed Houston to see any more success? Literally, they’ve been the biggest hurdle in the American League for the last half of a decade. His nomination was more about the fact that he’s the legendary Dusty Baker and less about anything he did with the Astros in 2021.

Next up, Kevin Cash. So, the Rays ran away with the AL East in 2020 with a 40-20 record and followed that up in 2021 with a 100-62 campaign. Tampa lost to the Dodgers in the World Series last year and followed that up by storming right back to the postseason. I don’t quite get the point of rewarding a guy who followed up a near world championship win by getting another crack at the title.

I like Kevin Cash, I think he’s a solid manager, and of course, I can’t ignore his ties to the Red Sox. Defeating the Rays in the ALDS this year was easily one of the best baseball moments we’ve had since 2018. It’s just hard for me to say he deserves the nod over Cora when, much like Dusty, he just did the exact same thing he did the year before. If you’re in the World Series one year the expectation should be at minimum a postseason berth the next, well done Kev.

I have zero venom for Servais as what he did with the Seattle Mariners actually did warrant his inclusion on this list. He took a team that finished third in their division in 2020 and got them to a 90-72 record in 2021 and just narrowly missed the postseason. We all remember how stressful it was as the Red Sox, Mariners, Blue Jays, and Yankees were fighting for two Wild Card spots with things coming down to the final weekend of the year.

The Mariners are a team that usually gets forgotten about as the regular season progresses as the AL West tends to get a bit spicy. Servais was able to take his squad and put a jolt into a division that is usually pretty easy to predict. Of the three, he’s the only one that I can’t get upset over as he actually managed his team to a better outcome than they saw the year before.

Now, it’s time for the main event. How in the hell do you not include Alex Cora in this trio? Are we really still holding 2017 against him? It was four years ago, he served his time, and oh yeah, one of your nominated managers currently managers the guys who actually did the cheating! To say the Red Sox were lost without AC at the helm would be a massive understatement and what he did in 2021 should be commended.

The Red Sox went from a bottom of the barrel 5th place AL East finish to leading the division for the majority of this year, just to stumble in the second half. Some will use that as a reason for Cora being left off this list but it’s a lazy take and those people should try harder. Boston was projected to be in the basement yet again and yet they crushed the first half of the season and still earned a postseason spot with a 92-70 record.

I would love to talk about the Wild Card Game thumping of the Yankees. I’d go into the fact that Cora’s Red Sox crushed Cash’s Rays in the ALDS to a tune of a 3-1 series win. He also had his side two games from knocking out Baker’s Astros in the ALCS. Had Game 1 and 4 gone differently, we would’ve seen the Boston Bowl in the World Series. But, of course, many of you will harp on this being a regular-season award and we can’t look at the playoffs.

Again, in 2020 this Red Sox team finished with a 24-36 record, which would extrapolate out to 65-97 and a full season. The “experts,” all believed that this team would finish somewhere in the mid-80 win range. Last I checked, 92-70 far exceeds those projections and is a hell of a turnaround from being the fourth-worst team in all of baseball last year. To say that AC didn’t earn this nomination is simply ridiculous and it’s more about the writers than the manager himself.

It’s time to move on from 2017 and the witch hunt that was the investigation into 2018. Cora was thrown under the bus by a group of guys who had immunity in Houston and then nothing was found in the baseless claims of the championship year. The BWAA will never admit that they’re still holding that over Cora’s head but it’s pretty clear from anyone looking at this from the outside.