Yankees' Aaron Boone Reacts to Red Sox Firing Friend Alex Cora

A move very few around the game saw coming

Red Sox manager Alex Cora and Yankee manager Aaron Boone shake hands prior to start of opening day game at Yankee Stadium April 8, 2022. Yankees Opening Day | Frank Becerra Jr. / The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK

Alex Cora and Aaron Boone have a friendship that supersedes the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees rivalry.

The two have been tight since their days as television analysts for ESPN, and have long spoken glowingly of each other whenever prompted during rivalry matchups. So when Cora was fired by the Red Sox on Saturday, Boone had to be stunned.

On Tuesday, during his appearance on the "Talkin' Yanks" podcast, Boone shed light on how he reacted to the news when it first came down.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Boone talks Red Sox firing Cora

Jun 13, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) in the dugout before the start of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Boone first gave an account of the timeline of Saturday afternoon on his end, as he and the first-place Yankees prepared to face the Houston Astros. Earlier in the week, they'd swept the Red Sox at Fenway Park, which likely accelerated the timeline of Cora getting canned.

"I was in my office in Houston, probably literally five to 10 minutes before I'm going out to the dugout for the game," Boone told host Jake Storiale. "A couple of our coaches had heard that something was going down in Boston. Guys started checking their phones and stuff, and yeah, Cora and several of the coaches might be out, and it was looking that way. ... Yeah, it was stunning."

Aaron Boone thinks Alex Cora is "one of the best managers in the sport" and was stunned that the Red Sox fired him pic.twitter.com/xwU8ex8OcW

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 28, 2026

Boone saw Cora's Red Sox eliminate the Yankees from the playoffs twice (in 2018 and 2021), and even in seasons when the Red Sox were languishing at the bottom of the American League East standings, the series between the two rivals were almost always competitive.

With that in mind, it was no surprise when Boone backed Cora's aptitude for managing a club.

"Look, I think he's one of the best managers in the sport," Boone told Storiale. So yeah, I think it was stunning to all of us."

Boston and New York still have 10 games left against each other this season, so Boone will have to prepare for a Chad Tracy-managed team instead of Cora. And as someone whose job security is frequently called into question in the country's largest media market, there's no doubt Boone empathizes with Cora's situation.