Joey Cora

Previous Position: Pirates Third Base Coach (2017 – 2019)

Age: May 14, 1965 (54)

Managerial Experience: Altoona Curve (2016), Tiburones de la Guaira (2005-2006), Savannah Sand Gnats (2003), Kingsport Mets (2001-2002)

Believe it or not, there is someone available who had a hand in shaping David Wright‘s career. That person is Cora, who started his professional coaching career the same year Wright began his professional playing career.

After Kingsport, Cora would have a long career as a coach dealing with a number of issues and helping develop players along with the way. In Chicago, he worked with Ozzie Guillen to help that franchise win their first World Series since 1917, which was two years prior to the 1919 team which infamously threw the World Series.

Cora would follow Guillen to Miami in 2012, and he experienced about as turbulent a year as anyone could experience. In addition to the drama surrounding Hanley Ramirez moving to third to accommodate the Jose Reyes signing, Guillen’s comments about Fidel Castro caused a controversy. This led to Cora not only serving as an interim manager, but also the entire coaching staff getting fired at the end of the season.

To a certain extent, it was surprising Cora was even in that position. For years, he was a respected coach who has interviewed for a number of jobs, including the Pittsburgh Pirates job this year. Each and every time, he fell short. It is somewhat odd he did considering his resume. He not only has an extensive coaching resume, but he is also Vanderbilt educated, and he has molded players and managers alike. This includes Wright, and it includes people like his younger brother Alex Cora. What is interesting about that is while many dream of playing in the Majors, the elder Cora dreamed of managing.

Another interesting aspect to Cora’s persona is he has often served as a counter-balance to the manager. In Chicago, that meant his being a more calming influence at least with the media. In Pittsburgh, that has meant being more fiery, and he was that so much so he once had a dust up with David Freese during a particularly intense game where Freese was upset the team did not retaliate his getting beaned.

On that point, Cora has said, “Teams take the characteristics of their managers. As a coach, you’re just trying to make it easier on your manager. … My favorite manager was Lou Piniella, not only because he was as good baseball man, but because of the way he communicated with me. His style of communicating with players.” (Alan Saunders, Times Online).

Really, when you break it down, the one and only mark you could come up against Cora is you aren’t quite sure how he processes analytics as he has not typically worked for analytically driven teams. In fact, it was one of the marks against Guillen’s White Sox teams, and it was one of the reasons the organization opted to go in a different direction. To his credit, Cora did tell the Times Online, he was interested in becoming better versed in them, and it was one of the things he had hoped to gain from the Pirates organization.

Overall, Cora is a baseball man through and through. He is someone who has earned the respect of his players and coaching staff. He has served in a number of different roles, and he has been able to be someone who does what is needed to support his coach and his team. He has seen just about everything you can see, and he has handled it all deftly.

What They Say

Alex Cora: “I still look up to him. He’s amazing. He’s a guy that sometimes I wish I was as structured as he is. Very smart guy, very smart individual who has a passion not only for baseball but his family.” (Buster Olney, ESPN).

Edgar Martinez: “Joey is a baseball guy, he has a great knowledge for the game…he knows how to win, the fans love Joey. I think he would be a great fit. He earns the respect of his players.” (Lookout Landing)

Ken Williams: “He’s seen the best and knows what it takes, both at the veteran level and the younger level, because we have a blend. He’s certainly had a lot of practice learning to navigate his way around the media, from the manager we have in place.” (Geoff Baker, Seattle Times).

Recommendation

Cora has spent over 30 years in baseball, and in that time, he has come across all different sorts of managers. His first manager was Larry Bowa, who had made baseball a terrible experience for him. There was also Guillen and Hurdle. He also played for managers like Piniella and Mike Hargrove. Breaking it down, Cora has seen everything and learned from the best. Overall, while he has not gotten his opportunity to manager, he has learned what he needs to do to help his teams thrive.

In some ways, Cora is the perfect mentor to a complete novice of a manager in Carlos Beltran. Cora can be his enforcer like he was with Hurdle, and he can also be the person who serves as the steadying hand like he was for Guillen. Mostly, he can show Beltran what some managers did that did and did not work.

As noted, the only thing you don’t know is his ability to handle analytics. To that point, he does at least seem receptive to learning them and properly utilizing them. With teams like the Mets utilizing coaches like Luis Rojas to receive and translate that information, Cora’s relative inexperience can be offset. In the end, Cora being a good bench coach for Beltran isn’t really going to be about his ability to dig through the numbers, but rather, his ability to help Beltran do it.

Overall, Cora is really an ideal candidate for the Mets bench coach position, and if he gets the job, the Mets would be in a very good position to help Beltran succeed as a manager.