The Boston Red Sox made an unexpected managerial switch this offseason in the wake of allegations of sign-stealing against Alex Cora during his time with Houston Astros and Red Sox.
While moving on from Cora, who helped the team win a World Series in his first year, 2018, wasn't ideal, the Red Sox had a viable, experienced managerial candidate available to take over for him. That would be Ron Roenicke.
Roenicke is a long-time MLB veteran who worked with Mike Scioscia as part of the Los Angeles Angels and later would go onto manage the Milwaukee Brewers. Roenicke was brought to Boston to serve as a veteran mentor for Cora, but now he'll have a shot to take over as the interim manager in the wake of controversy with the Sox.
LIVE stream the Celtics all season and get the latest news and analysis on all of your teams from NBC Sports Boston by downloading the My Teams App.
Though the Red Sox are in a bit of turmoil, Scioscia is excited for Roenicke to get a shot at managing again, and the long-time MLB skipper said that Roenicke would be a great hire.
“He’s going to do a great job for that team,” Scioscia said, per Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. “Ron is insightful and he has a great demeanor about him. A great baseball mind, too. I’m glad to see Ron back managing. They’re not ideal circumstances, but he’s the right person for that team.”
Getting an endorsement from Scioscia, who had a solid 19-year run as the manager of the Angels, is certainly ideal. After all, Scioscia led the Angels to six first-place finishes in the AL West, a World Series title in 2002, and posted a 1,650-1,428 record as the manager. He knows how to win and build a solid program.
Boston Red Sox
So, if he believes in Roenicke, there's reason to believe in Roenicke.
“He’s as competitive as it gets,” Scioscia said of Roenicke. “He’s a winner. He’s very sincere, very honest. He’ll tell people what he thinks. But those are positives when you have that job.”
Beyond that, Roenicke has familiarity with the players he'll be coaching, so the clubhouse chemistry should continue to be solid, though the departures of Mookie Betts and Brock Holt will surely sting a bit. Still, the team has enough leaders to get by.
Overall, it seems that Roenicke was the best choice for the squad, especially amid reports that the Red Sox got the OK from the MLB to hire him despite the sign-stealing allegations. It's just a matter of whether or not he can get enough out of the pitching staff to get the Sox to reach their full potential.