Originally Posted by
Bellhorn04
From The Athletic (I'm a paid subscriber. My apologies to Harmony for the copy and paste. I won't do it often.)
How Alex Cora and the Red Sox reunited: ‘It wasn’t a dog-and-pony show’
By Chad Jennings Nov 6, 2020
When the interview process started, Alex Cora was not considered internally to be the favorite to return as Red Sox manager. In fact, many in the organization fully expected someone else to get the job.
The Red Sox knew Cora, they liked Cora, and many of their top decision-makers wanted him back, but the final say-so was in the hands of chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, and there was little certainty he would ever come around to the same conclusion. When initial interviews revealed an impressive group of eight other candidates — a much stronger candidate pool than when Cora was initially hired in 2017 – a reunion seemed even less likely.
According to team sources, though, the hiring process began to shift in the past week as Bloom and Cora talked many times both on the phone and face-to-face. Bloom asked tough questions and openly discussed Cora’s strengths and weaknesses. Cora addressed his role in the Houston sign-stealing scandal and talked about the lessons he’d learned in the fallout. At one point, according to one source, Cora flatly asked Bloom, “Do you trust me?” If not, Cora told him, Bloom should hire someone else. Bloom said he did.
By Thursday morning, Bloom requested a final Zoom call with his top lieutenants: general manager Brian O’Halloran and assistant general managers Raquel Ferreira, Eddie Romero and Zack Scott. He wanted to talk through, once again, his thoughts on Cora and the possibility of bringing him back. By Thursday night, Bloom’s decision was made. News of Cora’s hiring broke on Friday morning and was announced officially on Friday night. It’s a two-year contract with a team option for two more.
“Our conversations were lengthy, intense, and emotional,” Bloom said in a released statement. “Alex knows that what he did was wrong, and he regrets it. My belief is that every candidate should be considered in full: strengths and weaknesses, accomplishments and failures. That is what I did with Alex in making this choice.”
The reunion came at the end of a lengthy process, one that introduced the Red Sox to promising young baseball minds but brought them eventually to a familiar candidate many observers believed to be an obvious choice. Although the final decision seemed inevitable, those inside the organization say it was never that simple.
“It wasn’t a dog-and-pony show,” one source insisted.
In the earliest stages of their search, the Red Sox vetted many names, some of them grizzled managers and others less experienced coaches. They settled on eight initial candidates: Phillies director of integrative baseball performance Sam Fuld, Marlins bench coach James Rowson, Pirates bench coach Don Kelly, Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza, Diamondbacks bench coach Luis Urueta, Twins bench coach Mike Bell, Padres associate manager Skip Schumaker, and Cubs third base coach Will Venable.
The Red Sox also decided they would reach out to Cora when his suspension was lifted at the end of the World Series, but Bloom “didn’t yet know if it made sense to consider him for the job.” If any candidate were getting a courtesy interview, some thought it might be Cora.
True to their word, the Red Sox ownership group basically stayed out of the process. It was no secret that owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Sam Kennedy liked Cora — they’d said so publicly many times since he was let go in January — but sources said ownership did not pressure Bloom to bring Cora back. They were in the loop, of course, but it truly was Bloom’s decision. The feeling within the organization was, if Bloom wanted someone else, ownership would support that choice.
One thing ownership made clear was it had no objection to the optics of Cora returning after two sign-stealing scandals, including one the Red Sox were punished for, and a season-long suspension. The negative public relations side of Cora’s return was never a significant hurdle.
“He owns, and has learned from, his past mistakes,” Kennedy said in the team’s statement, “and with his incredible talent, he will build on the deep bonds he’s fostered over time to make us better in the years to come.”
That said, Cora’s ties to illegal sign-stealing were impossible to ignore. The issue had to be discussed and considered, especially since the Red Sox themselves had been found guilty of a lesser sign-stealing infraction when Cora was manager in 2018. To bring him back, Bloom and the Red Sox had to feel confident Cora would not leave them vulnerable to another scandal and further humiliation.
Ultimately, they came to believe that Cora understood the gravity of the situation and had come to terms with his own role in what happened in Houston. If something similar were to happen again on Cora’s watch, his career in baseball would be finished. Cora knew that. The Red Sox believed they could trust him not to let that happen.
“This past year, I have had time to reflect and evaluate many things, and I recognize how fortunate I am to lead this team once again,” Cora said in his own official statement. “Not being a part of the game of baseball, and the pain of bringing negative attention to my family and this organization was extremely difficult. I am sorry for the harm my past actions have caused and will work hard to make this organization and its fans proud.”
Bloom and Cora had worked together for three months last winter, so their interview process was not an introduction, but it was an opportunity to address issues left lingering after Cora’s sudden departure. Bloom and O’Halloran flew to Puerto Rico to meet with Cora face-to-face last Friday, and Bloom and Cora kept talking after Bloom’s return to Boston.
In the final days of the search, the decision came down to three finalists: Cora, Fuld and Rowson. One of the Red Sox executives who pushed for Cora throughout the process told Bloom he ultimately would be happy with any of the options. All three had impressed the organization. All three seemed to be deserving managers. All three came with upside as leaders of the Red Sox clubhouse. But Cora was still that executive’s top choice when Bloom asked his inner circle to rank the final three candidates.
Of the nine candidates the Red Sox interviewed, Cora was the only one with major league managerial experience, and that experience — with all its ups and downs, its flaws and its championships — wound up being a factor in his favor.
“He’ll be a better manager than he was in 2018 (because of his experience),” one source said.
The Red Sox are about to find out just how much better. They’re planning to reintroduce Cora in a virtual news conference next week. He’s already the second manager Bloom has hired.
In his first year on the job, Bloom has proven to be deliberate and thorough in his decision making, and also collaborative in his process. His decision to bring back Cora, sources said, was not forced upon him, and it was never inevitable. Cora is back as manager only because Bloom was truly convinced Cora was the right person for the job.
“He loves the Red Sox and the game of baseball,” Bloom said in the team’s statement, “and because of that we believe he will make good on this second chance. I join our whole organization in welcoming Alex back to Boston and Fenway Park.”
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