Chowder and Champions
Fansided

Boston Red Sox: Alex Cora in the hot seat after two cheating allegations

By Justin Trombino

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: Alex Cora #20 of the Boston Red Sox checks his tablet prior to Game Five of the 2018 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: Alex Cora #20 of the Boston Red Sox checks his tablet prior to Game Five of the 2018 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Alex Cora and the Boston Red Sox are in the hot seat for an alleged cheating scandal of their 2018 World Series season.

The latest developments around Major League Baseball find the Boston Red Sox allegedly were stealing signals and trying to figure out the sequence of their opponents pitches during the 2018 World Series season.

The way the Red Sox supposedly accomplished this was by sending players to the replay booth at the bottom of the dug out in hopes they could pick up on trends from the pitcher and catcher. Then the base runner would be responsible for “relaying the information” to the batter by signaling him in some way from his spot on base.

If you think about it, it’s quite impressive to pull off something like this. To start, the entire team needs to be on the same page because the unpredictability of who gets on base is too high. Another thing to think about is how often this was happening in a game, as more recently, pitcher’s and catcher’s are changing up their signs mid-game to avoid the potential variable of the opposition catching on to their signs.

More from Chowder and Champions

This isn’t the first time the Boston Red Sox have been in this position. In 2017, the MLB fined Boston for communicating electronically from the replay room to an athletic trainer in the dug out. The amount the Sox were fined was undisclosed, but MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred then warned the MLB of any future violations affecting the integrity of the game will be handled more sternly.

"“Any allegation that relates to a rule violation that could affect the outcome of a game or games is the most serious matter. It relates to the integrity of the sport. More serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks.” -MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, per The Associated Press"

The challenging and more serious part of it all is the perception of Alex Cora. Let’s not forget Cora is still linked to the 2017 Houston Astros’ cheating scandal when he was a bench coach for the team. In the case of the Astros, they would bang on garbage cans in the dug out, while the Red Sox used a base-runner. The allegations in Boston now connects him to two cheating scandals within three seasons.

At this point it’s led to believe there will be some sort of disciplinary punishment for Alex Cora. Whether it’s a fine or a suspension, it seems like the penalty for him will be greater than it will be for the Boston Red Sox organization. It’s hard to justify what has been done under the management of Cora.

Next. Boston Red Sox: 2018 World Series championship tainted. dark

The Boston Red Sox and their new Chief Baseball officer, Chaim Bloom, are in a bit of a rebuild as it is and now have to deal with this on top everything. The one thing worth mentioning about Bloom is that he doesn’t have any previous ties or connections with Alex Cora, thus leaving him unblinded by their own relationship.

We’ll have to wait for the outcome of what the MLB finds through their own investigation.

Home/Boston Red Sox