Ex-Red Sox Infielder Reportedly Indirectly Played Role In Alex Cora Firing originally appeared on NESN.
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The Boston Red Sox decided to move on from Alex Cora on Saturday, and CBS Sports revealed an interesting buildup to the move.
The Red Sox were 10-17 under Cora to start the season, but the record was not the sole reason for the change at manager. According to CBS Sports’ Julian McWilliams, part of the problem that some in the front office identified was the development of players.
In the offseason, the Red Sox traded David Hamilton to the Milwaukee Brewers. According to McWilliams, the front office was “bullish” on him and viewed him as an asset. He never had amazing numbers with the team, but the front office thought his skill set was indicative of great potential. Hamilton came to Fenway Park when the Brewers were visiting and had a strong series, making plays on defense and utilizing his speed to change the game. This reportedly raised questions in the front office.
“Why do a lot of players go to other places and get better?” one source said of the questions being asked, per McWilliams. “Why do other guys come here and get worse?”
Now, Hamilton is just one example of a player who left Boston and started to thrive. Kyle Harrison, who was part of the same trade, has also played well for the Brewers. However, there are also examples of players who have thrived in Boston and gone on to get paid.
Hamilton’s success in Milwaukee was not the reason why Cora was fired. That would be foolish. However, his play did reportedly start a line of questioning that ultimately played a role in Cora losing his job.
“From the front office perspective, the program lacked structure and was not conducive to consistent player development,” wrote McWilliams.
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