Managing a Major League Baseball club isn’t easy, but Alex Cora sure made it seem that way in his first year at the helm of the Boston Red Sox.
After leading the Red Sox to a franchise-record 108 regular-season wins, Cora capped off his brilliant debut campaign with a World Series championship.
Cora seemed to push all the right buttons throughout the Red Sox’s memorable run to a title. One of those buttons was Steve Pearce, who went from a mid-season acquisition with little buzz to the MVP of the Fall Classic. And for a rotation player like Pearce, Cora’s approach made things a whole lot easier.
“That was one of my favorite things I liked playing for him. He was very communicative,” Pearce said during an interview with MLB Network. “He told you the day before if you were starting if it was a righty, and I always knew that I was going to be playing against a lefty. That open communication, it’s a big help for a player. He’s a player’s manager, and I enjoyed every single day playing for him.”
Given Pearce’s admiration for Cora, as well as the Red Sox being poised for sustained success, it’s not much of a shocker that the veteran first baseman decided to return to Boston for the 2019 season.
