Alex Cora reportedly bragged to Red Sox members about sign-stealing scandal with the Astros

Red Sox manager Alex Cora’s role in the Astros’ cheating scandal has been well-documented over the years, as an MLB investigation found that he masterminded the electronic sign-stealing system when he was their bench coach en route to winning the World Series in 2017.

It turns out Cora wasn’t shy about sharing what he did in Houston with some members of the Red Sox, either. Cora would “occasionally” talk and “brag” about the Astros’ sign-stealing during conversations with members of the Red Sox when he joined the team as their manager in 2018, Evan Drellich reported in his upcoming book “Winning Fixes Everything: How Baseball’s Brightest Minds Created Sports’ Biggest Mess.”

“We stole that [expletive] World Series,” Cora allegedly said via an excerpt released by the Boston Herald.

The occasions Cora would discuss the Astros’ sign-stealing typically came during late-night conversations, with a member of the Red Sox reportedly saying it would “especially [happen] when they started drinking.”

“We knew the Astros did [steal signs], because Alex Cora told us,” a separate member of the Red Sox reportedly told Drellich. “He said that when they played the Dodgers [in the World Series], ‘We already knew what everybody was throwing before we even got on base. We didn’t have to get on base.’ And everybody was like, ‘What the hell does that mean?’”

The Red Sox and Cora mutually agreed to part ways after the findings of MLB’s investigation into the Astros were released in January 2020. He was later suspended for a season by the league after the conclusion of the investigation into the Red Sox’ sign-stealing scandal in April of that year.

Cora reportedly declined to comment to the Boston Herald about the allegations from the new book.

The Red Sox rehired Cora in November 2020 and he seemed to take the shame of the scandal on the chin.

“I want to make sure everybody knows that this situation is part of who I am for the rest of my career,’” Cora said when he was rehired. “As a man, I have to deal with it. I don’t want people to make it seem like it’s a great comeback story.”

However, Cora didn’t want to talk much about the scandal, either.

“I don’t want to get into what happened in ’17, but it’s a tough lesson,” Cora said.

As previously mentioned, the Red Sox were also at the center of their own sign-stealing signal not just during Cora’s first tenure in Boston, but also in the season prior. They were caught illegally stealing signs with an Apple Watch during the 2017 season and replay coordinator J.T. Watkins received a year-long suspension for sharing other team’s signs from the video room to the dugout during the 2018 season.

While Watkins’s suspension was supposed to be an unpaid one, he was reportedly receiving money during his suspension, according to Drellich via the Herald.

“We know what he did for us, so it’s on us to take care of him,” Red Sox players reportedly said.

“Winning Fixes Everything: How Baseball’s Brightest Minds Created Sports’ Biggest Mess,” which details how the Astros, Red Sox, and other teams broke MLB rules, is set to be released on Feb. 14.

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