As a first-year manager, you can’t do much better than Alex Cora did in 2018.
After getting hired in November 2017 by the Boston Red Sox, Cora led the team to 108 regular-season wins, and at the very least a trip to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2013.
His composure and ability to read his players has been impressive to watch, and his transition from Houston Astros bench coach to Sox manager has been seamless. In all of that, of course, is the fact that Cora is remarkably confident in what he’s doing.
During the interview process, Cora’s confidence apparently stood out.
Like, really stood out.
In fact, team owner John Henry on Tuesday revealed his lone criticism of Cora after he interviewed him, and it had to do with his plentiful confidence.
John Henry on Cora: "My only criticism, after we interviewed him I went back to Dave & I said 'Dave, he's a little confident. In fact, he's overconfident.' But he was born to be a manager, he's a natural leader. I've never seen anybody do a better job of handling a clubhouse." https://t.co/sysbn4Xm9P
— Michael Silverman (@MikeSilvermanBB) October 10, 2018
The move to bring Cora aboard has worked out quite well to date. So even though Henry may have been a little overwhelmed by the confidence at first, it hardly has proven to be a negative characteristic.
