Alex Cora is making this whole managing thing look pretty easy.
How has Cora fared thus far in his first season as skipper of the Red Sox? Well, he led Boston to the most regular-season wins in franchise history and now has the ballclub four wins away from the World Series.
Speaking with the media ahead of Saturday’s American League Championship Series opener against the Houston Astros at Fenway Park, Cora shed some light on how he’s approached his job, which the first-year manager doesn’t let interfere with his life outside the game.
“One thing coming to a situation where I knew it was a good group,” Cora said, as seen on NESN. “Talking to them in November and December, we talked about things we were going to do to stay together and attack 162 games and obviously the players. Just talking to them, connecting (with them), I’m 42 years old so there are certain things they like that I do like. There are certain things they were that I don’t like, but just keep it loose and be yourself.
“As a person, and most of the people know here, I’m the manager from when I get here until I get in that car and have to go home because there are more important things in my life than being a big league manager. I think that’s what puts everything in perspective. This is crazy, this is really crazy. If you get caught up in the whole noise and madness, you’re gonna be in trouble. That’s the way I see it. I’ve got a great support group.”
Cora appears fairly mild-mannered in the dugout and rarely gets animated during games. As such, it might come as a surprise to fans that Cora has had to scream and yell at his team this season.
“Yeah, there are different ways to do it and I know how to approach those times and those situations,” Cora said. “They understand. They know we have a job to do and there’s a way we wanna do it, and so far it’s been great.”
It certainly has been great for Cora and the Red Sox, who are in a great position to win their fourth World Series title in the past 14 years.
