Boston • Alex Cora has already been identified as a ringleader in an illegal system of sign stealing when he was with the Houston Astros.
The Red Sox didn't wait to see what punishment Major League Baseball might give him for possibly bringing a similar scheme with him to Boston.
Cora was fired by the team he led to the 2018 World Series title on Tuesday night, one day after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said he was “an active participant” in the Astros' cheating when he was a bench coach in Houston.
Manfred mentioned Cora by name 11 times in a nine-page report, saying he "originated and executed" the scheme in which Houston used a center field camera to decode catchers' signals to pitchers, then banged on a trash can to relay the signs to batters so they would know what type of pitch was coming.