Alex Cora: a real apology
honesty, not PR bullshit
You know when people get caught cheating or committing some misdemeanor or doing some other dumb-shit stuff, and in whatever apology they make, they include this line:
“That’s not the person I am.”
Or the organization we are, or the team we are. Variations on these abound, and they’re always found in the kinds of blame-avoiding non-apologies written by a team of lawyers and PR hacks. Well, Alex Cora got caught doing something really wrong, he got punished, and this what he had to say about it when introduced as the once-again manager of the Boston Red Sox:
“I want to make sure everybody knows that this situation is part of who I am for the rest of my career.”
That was pretty damn refreshing. Of course, it would have been a lot better had he not helped set up the cheating scheme in Houston in 2017 and robbing his former team, the Dodgers of that World Series championship. And while to some Dodgers fans may not be satisfied with a one-year suspension and then right back into his sweet gig at Boston (which may not be as sweet as when he won the title there in 2018, possibly also utilizing some cheating) — 1, his one year is infinitely longer than any of the players served, and 2, MLB condoned the cheating, so it’s not really him we need to be angry with.
Cora had a great team in 2018, with Mookie Betts and other players who were performing at peak levels. They simply played the Dodgers off the field in that World Series, fair and square. Betts is now gone, and so is a lot of the ability. He’s going to have to be a different kind of manager in 2021, one that can help develop one of the worst teams in 2020 into a contender over a number of years. The 2018 team gave the impression that anyone could manage it to victory; 2021 is going to take strong managerial chops.
Cora’s gone through the shame of the cheating scandal, and he’s back with that on his back. He’s not running from it, not ignoring it. He’s owning it fully, and that’s pretty much all you can ask from someone who has gone through well-earned disgrace. I’m going to enjoy watching him next season because I think he’ll come through fine. I hope so. I’d like to see a person who doesn’t hide from such a public and awful mistake do well after owning up to it.
And now for what was easily his finest moment as a player, an 18-pitch at-bat that ended with a home run. Epic.
(Only 1:08; you can watch the whole thing, with Vin Scully’s narration, on YouTube.)
