Manager Alex Cora wants people to stay true to their feelings about the Red Sox.
After clinching a playoff spot with their 4-3 walk-off win over the Tigers on Friday, Cora declared that “nobody” thought the Red Sox were going to make it to the postseason at the start of the season.
“Let’s be honest, nobody thought we were gonna make it to October (when the season started),” Cora said ahead of Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Detroit, according to MassLive.
Cora then added the claims of Boston being a playoff favorite headed into the MLB season are “f–ing bulls–t.”
“Whoever says that, ‘Yeah, we were a playoff team,’ that’s f–king bulls–t, to be honest with you,” Cora added. “Nobody thought we were gonna make it to October. It was New York. It was Baltimore, it was Toronto, you know, and we believed we were going to play in October.
“We set our standards every single day. And we hit our standards.”
Cora also said his team is prepared to win it all during a speech while celebrating Boston’s playoff berth.
“We didn’t come here to play only 162. We came here to win the World Series,” Cora told his players in the clubhouse, according to ESPN.
After finishing with a mediocre 81-81 record in 2024, the Red Sox made a splash in the offseason in acquiring starting pitcher Garrett Crochet from the White Sox and signing three-time All-Star Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million deal.
Crochet, 26, proved to be a true ace for Boston, pitching to an 18-5 record with a 2.59 ERA and a league-leading 255 strikeouts.
Despite missing some time with a right quad strain, Bregman, 31, had a solid season for the Red Sox, posting a slash line of .273/.360/.462, along with 28 doubles.
Boston also signed right-hander Lucas Giolito on a flyer after he missed the entire 2024 season from Tommy John surgery, and the former All-Star put up a respectable 3.41 ERA through 26 starts this season.
