Alex Cora is back in MLB as the Boston Red Sox have decided to hire him as general manager again.
Cora had previously managed the Red Sox from 2018-2019 before being suspended by the league for one season.
Cora was found to have played a significant role during his time as a coach for the 2017 Houston Astros. The 2017 Astros had won the 2017 World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games. However, it was after that World Series win that a scandal broke out over the Astros for sign stealing using technology. The scandal called into question the legitimacy of the Astros 2017 world series win and season.
MLB decided to investigate these claims in 2019. The league’s investigation had found that the Astros used technology to steal signs of pitchers for their advantage. Cora was a coach for the Astros in 2017, was found by the league to be heavily involved in the sign stealing. Cora was said to have devised methods to relay messages of signs to hitters using trash cans and other ways to steal signs. For this, MLB decided to ban Cora for one-season in 2019. As a result, Cora was released from his managerial role for the Red Sox.
The Boston Red Sox also have a history of sign stealing. In 2017, the Boston Red Sox were fined for sign stealing. When Cora joined as manager in 2018, he led the Red Sox to a World Series win. Ironically, that winning Red Sox team was investigated by the league for sign stealing. However, this time it was not Cora who was the culprit, it was the replay system operator J.T. Watkins who was the main offender.
The Red Sox had considered Sam Fuld, who played for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2011-2013 before they decided on Cora. Cora was interviewed last week after the conclusion of the World Series.
