BOSTON — Major League Baseball managers are human, too.
Alex Cora seemingly has pushed all the right buttons thus far in his first season as the Boston Red Sox’s skipper, but he was more than willing to acknowledge a recent oversight.
In the ninth inning of Boston’s eventual 8-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, Cora surprisingly stuck with J.D. Martinez in left field with a one-run lead in hand and Jackie Bradley Jr. waiting in the wings for a defensive upgrade.
So, why didn’t JBJ enter the ball game? Well, it sounds like Cora still was riding high from his team’s six-run frame in the bottom of the eighth inning.
“Honestly, I’m going to be honest with you, we scored six runs and we were so excited,” Cora told reporters before Tuesday’s game against the New York Yankees. “The manager missed that one.”
One might wonder why Cora would even address his mistake a few days after the fact, especially considering the Red Sox won the game. But for the new manager, it’s all about sticking to core values.
“I ask our guys to be genuine, transparent and responsible,” Cora said. “If I’m asking them to be that way, then I better be that way.”
