(670 The Score) After letting manager Rick Renteria go Monday, the White Sox will now turn their attention to what’s considered a strong managerial market.
Included on the market is a pair of World Series-winning managers in AJ Hinch and Alex Cora, who both lost their jobs in the fallout from the Astros’ cheating scandal. The Astros were found to have used technology to steal signs in 2017, when they won the World Series with Hinch as their manager and Cora as their bench coach. Cora then left to become the manager of the Red Sox, whom he led to a championship in 2018.
Hinch and Cora weren’t directly implicated in having a proactive role in the cheating scheme, but each received one-year suspensions for 2020. Hinch was negligent in that he didn’t do enough to stop the cheating, MLB concluded.
So should the White Sox be the team to give one of those two another chance? Television analyst Steve Stone believes so.
“They both got in trouble,” Stone said on the Dan Bernstein Show. “They both paid a price for it. I’m of a different mind than most people in that I think that if you make one mistake, you shouldn’t lose your career over it. And I look at the body of work. I’ve talked with both men extensively. I’ve talked with A.J. Hinch a bit more than I have Alex Cora, but both men really understand how to play the game. And both men are very good managers and both men have become leaders of men.”
Hinch, 46, managed the Diamondbacks in 2009 and 2010 and the Astros from 2015-’19. He has compiled a 570-452 record (.558 winning percentage) across seven seasons as an MLB manager. He led the Astros to two American League pennants and the one World Series.
Cora, 44, was 192-132 in leading the Red Sox for two seasons. After winning the World Series in 2018, the Red Sox missed the playoffs in 2019.
“I personally believe that yes, you make a mistake in life, you pay for your mistake and then you move on,” Stone said. “You learn from it. If you’re really smart, you never repeat it again and you go from there. We have a certain extent of cancel culture out there that says if you make one mistake, you should be buried for the rest of your life. I don’t agree with that at all. There’s a lot of people who will disagree with me. It doesn’t matter that much personally to me. But I believe you should be able to pay the price for your mistake and then move on and continue your career. I think both of these guys, I don’t think you can go wrong with either of them. I personally prefer AJ because I prefer catchers over infielders (due to their work with pitching staffs) … I thought he was a wonderful manager with Houston.”