It may look as if he never left. There is Alex Cora in the Red Sox dugout, calmly running a game with the touch and equanimity of a jeweler. “It’s like he’s got a crystal ball,” says Boston shortstop Xander Bogaerts. And there are the Red Sox, an awful, doleful 24–36 outfit last year without Cora, playing inspired, winning baseball again with him.
But deep down, in that place in your soul where priorities align, this is not the same Cora. Getting kicked out of the game you love can do that to a fellow.
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“I’m good at turning the page,” Cora tells Sports Illustrated.