Alex Cora Says He 'Deserved' Suspension For Role With Astros' Sign-Stealing Scandal

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he "deserved" his one-year suspension from Major League Baseball, addressing the punishment in a press conference on Tuesday. 

Cora was suspended by MLB through the end of the 2020 season as a result of the league's investigation into the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal from the team's 2017 championship run. Cora was a bench coach on that team before he was hired by the Red Sox. 

"I was spending time at home for the wrong reasons. I want to apologize," Cora said. "I deserved what happened and I'm not proud of it."

Cora, 45, was re-hired as Red Sox manager on Nov. 6. He spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons as the Red Sox manager, winning the World Series in his first season. 

During Tuesday's press conference, Cora said he "honestly never thought" he was going to get his job back and added that he does not want people to see his return as a "big comeback story."

In June, Cora told ESPN's Marly Rivera that he was not the "sole mastermind" behind the Astros' sign-stealing scheme. MLB's investigation found that Astros players and team personnel used a live camera feed to signal upcoming pitches to batters, including banging on a trash can. 

When asked why he did not bring the sign-stealing scheme to the Red Sox in 2018, Cora said it "wasn't worth it."

"I didn't feel like we needed to do something like that, honestly," Cora said. "I know people won't believe me, 'Why not bring here if it was that effective?' I don't know. I decided in the offseason not to bring it here...The organization was loud and clear about the sign-stealing stuff, what happened before, and they walked me through it in the meetings in Spring Training with MLB. When I talked to them, it was like, 'Wow, I better not even try to do something like that.'"

The Red Sox are coming off a 24-36 season and a last-place finish in the AL East.