When Alex Cora was informed on Saturday that he was being fired, it was a message delivered by three members of the Red Sox brass who had made the trip to Baltimore: chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, team president Sam Kennedy, and owner John Henry.
But when it was time to explain and defend that decision in front of media on Sunday, only two of those three spoke: Breslow and Kennedy.
While Henry did issue a statement in the official press release announcing the first in-season managerial change since he bought the team in 2002, he did not speak to media or answer any questions. In fact, Henry has not spoken in a press conference setting since 2020, after the Mookie Betts trade.
While it's Henry's prerogative as team owner to largely avoid the media, his decision to do so after such a massive organizational shakeup – five other coaches were fired along with Cora – has been met with criticism.
Kennedy dismissed questions about Henry's absence on Sunday, saying curtly that Henry had been a part of the process and meetings, and that it was Kennedy and Breslow's job to talk to media.
On The Greg Hill Show Tuesday morning, Kennedy went into more detail on Henry's absence and his ongoing refusal to talk to media.
"John Henry is deeply engaged with this organization," Kennedy said. "He has been since day one, going all the way back to 2002. For those of you who know John, he doesn't always do it in the most public-facing way. He's very selective in terms of how he engages with the media, but that should not ever be confused with a lack of involvement or care.
"John's in regular communication daily with me, with Craig Breslow, with people across the organization. It's very personal for him. He cares deeply about this team. He and I and Craig flew together to Baltimore. He was there every step of the way, having the direct conversations with those impacted, having direct conversations with players in the clubhouse the next day. He's been in touch with players over the course of the last 48, 72 hours. And so I think it's important to clarify that. People understand and see him around the ballpark.
"I've been stating for years the level of involvement that John has. Nothing's wavered there whatsoever, and the passion and care is there. But I think there's this misperception because he engages with the media on a select basis, not engaging with talk radio, not engaging in a back and forth press conference over the last several years, I understand raises some question. But I am here to tell you that he is deeply, deeply engaged in this franchise and everything across all of Fenway Sports Group."
So, there you go. Kennedy insists Henry is as involved and engaged as ever. Just don't expect the owner to answer any questions from media any time soon.
