Red Sox manager Alex Cora to discuss Astros cheating scandal, suspension in NESN documentary
The Houston Astros cheating scandal is water under the bridge as far as Major League Baseball is concerned.
Still, the incident that ensnared former Astros bench coach and current Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is a touchy one for diehard Sox fans, who saw their team eliminated by the Astros in the 2017 American League Division Series.
Cora, the Astros' bench coach at the time, played a role in the "banging scheme" the Astros used to illegally steal opponents' sign. He and former Astros manager A.J. Hinch received one-year suspensions from MLB after the scandal was revealed by The Athletic in 2019. Cora was hired to manage the Red Sox in 2018, months after Houston won the first championship in team history.
As a result of MLB's investigation, Cora was suspended one year by commissioner Rob Manfred in Jan. 2020.
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“Alex — by his own admission, and we agreed — played a central role in what went on in Houston, and we all agreed that it was wrong and that we had a responsibility as stewards, as John had said, to have a standard here where that sort of behavior is not acceptable,” chairman Tom Werner said at the time.
Cora will address the scandal in the second episode of "The Mindset," a new multi-part docuseries announced Monday by NESN, the Red Sox's regional sports network. The episode will air May 24.
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Ron Roenicke was elevated to manager in Cora's place. Perhaps surprisingly, Roenicke's only season in Boston saw his job taken by the man he replaced. Cora was re-hired on a multiyear contract in Nov. 2020.
In episode 1 of 'The Mindset,' which airs Monday, the series will focus on another member of the controversial 2017 Astros team. Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman will "reflect on defining moments of his championship career, including World Series wins, an All-Star Game MVP performance, and the expectations that come with playing in Boston."
Manfred took the controversial step of granting players — including Bregman — immunity from discipline in exchange for their cooperation in the investigation that resulted in Cora's suspension. For his part, Cora has spoken to the incident before.
In a statement released at the time of his suspension, Cora said he took "full responsibility" for his part in the incident. “The collective conduct of the Astros’ organization in 2017 was unacceptable,” he added, “and I respect and accept the commissioner’s discipline for my past actions.”
if Cora and Bregman's use of the "dark arts" to beat the Red Sox in 2017 are not yet water under the bridge in Boston, at least NESN is willing to brave the choppy backlash that will come with it.
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