Jose Alexander Cora (born October 18, 1975) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball manager and former infielder who most recently managed the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 14 seasons with the Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, and Washington Nationals.
After retiring as a player, Cora served as the bench coach for the Houston Astros when they won their first World Series title in 2017. Cora was named Boston's manager the following season, winning a franchise-best 108 games and leading the team to victory in the 2018 World Series. He is the fifth MLB manager to win the World Series in his first season and the first Puerto Rican manager of a World Series-winning team.
Following the 2019 season, Cora was implicated in a sign-stealing scandal during his time with the Astros. Amid an investigation to determine if he took part in another sign-stealing scandal with the Red Sox, Cora and the Red Sox mutually agreed to part ways before the 2020 season. Cora was subsequently suspended through the 2020 playoffs for his role in the Astros' scandal. After his suspension ended, he returned to the Red Sox as their manager for the 2021 season. The Red Sox fired Cora during the 2026 season.
Cora was drafted in the 12th round of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft by the Minnesota Twins, but did not sign a contract and decided instead to play collegiate baseball at the University of Miami. While there, Cora was named to the College World Series all-tournament team in both 1995 and 1996. He led the team to the title game in 1996, a game they lost to Louisiana State University.
Cora was rated by Baseball America as the best collegiate defensive player going into the 1996 draft. Cora was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round, and played 61 games of the 1996 season with the Class A-Advanced Vero Beach Dodgers, batting .257 with no home runs and 26 RBIs. He played the 1997 season with the Double-A San Antonio Missions; in 127 games he batted .234 with 3 home runs and 48 RBIs. Cora spent parts of the 1998, 1999, and 2000 seasons with the Triple-A Albuquerque Dukes, hitting .264 in 81 games, .308 in 80 games, and .373 in 30 games, respectively.
Cora made his major league debut on June 7, 1998, with the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Seattle Mariners; his brother Joey Cora was Seattle's starting second baseman in the game. Cora spent the next seven years in Los Angeles, appearing in a total of 684 games while batting .246 with 27 home runs and 173 RBI. During his time with the Dodgers, he played at second base and shortstop. During the 2000 and 2001 seasons, Cora mostly played shortstop as the Dodgers moved the aging Mark Grudzielanek to second base. With the emergence of César Izturis in 2002, and the trade of Grudzielanek to the Chicago Cubs in December of the same year, Cora spent the rest of his stint with the Dodgers as their primary second baseman.
Cora played in one postseason series with the Dodgers, the 2004 NLDS, which the Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. Cora was the Dodgers' second baseman in all four games, batting 2-for-15 (.133) during the series.
He has the record for longest at-bat for a Dodger, where on May 12, 2004, against pitcher Matt Clement, he fouled off 18 pitches, then hit a home run.
On January 18, 2005, Cora signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians. He appeared in 49 games with the Indians, with 22 starts at shortstop and 14 at second base; he batted .205 with a home run and 8 RBI. On July 7, 2005, Cora was traded to the Boston Red Sox for infielder Ramón Vázquez.
Cora made his Red Sox debut on July 7, 2005, and through the end of the regular season appeared in a total of 47 games for Boston, batting .269 with two home runs and 16 RBI. In the 2005 ALDS, which Boston lost to the Chicago White Sox in a three-game sweep, Cora played in one game as a defensive replacement, without a plate appearance.
Cora was originally intended to back up shortstop Édgar Rentería. With the trade of Rentería to the Atlanta Braves in December 2005, Cora was being eyed to take the position of starting shortstop, until the Red Sox acquired Álex González in February 2006. For the 2006 season, Cora appeared in 96 games, batting .238 with one home run and 18 RBI.
Cora was a member of the Red Sox team that won the 2007 World Series. During the regular season, he appeared in 83 games and batted .246 with three home runs and 18 RBI. In the postseason, he appeared as a late-innings defensive replacement in two games of the 2007 ALCS and two games of the World Series. He had one plate appearance, a sacrifice bunt in World Series game 3.
For the 2008 regular season, Cora played in 75 games, batting .270 with no home runs and 9 RBI. He appeared in four postseason games; two games of the 2008 ALDS, which Boston won, and two games of the 2008 ALCS, which Boston lost. He batted 4-for-26 (.154) with no home runs and one RBI. These games were the final postseason appearances for Cora as a player.
On October 30, 2008, Cora became a free agent. In his four seasons with Boston, he appeared in 301 regular season games, batting .252 with six home runs and 61 RBI.
On January 22, 2009, Cora signed a one-year deal with the New York Mets. During the 2009 season, he appeared in 82 games, batting .251 with one home run and 18 RBI. On November 30, 2009, Cora re-signed with the Mets for the 2010 season, with an option for 2011. He was released by the Mets on August 7, 2010 — at the time, he was batting .207 with no home runs and 20 RBI, having played in 62 games of the 2010 season. In his time with the Mets, Cora appeared in a total of 144 games, with a .234 batting average, one home run, and 38 RBI.
On August 17, 2010, Cora signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers, and was assigned to their Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City, where he appeared in six games, batting 4-for-22 (.182). He then played four games for the Rangers, batting 2-for-7 (.286). The Rangers released Cora on September 7. Despite his limited time with Texas, the team later rewarded him with an AL Championship ring.
In January 2011, the Nationals signed Cora to a minor league contract. During the 2011 season, he appeared in 91 games for Washington, batting .224 with no home runs and 6 RBI. Cora's final MLB appearance was with the Nationals on September 28, when he tripled as a pinch hitter against the Florida Marlins.
Following the 2011 season, Cora played winter baseball in Puerto Rico, after which he announced his retirement; shortly thereafter he clarified that he was retiring only from winter baseball. He agreed to a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals on February 5, 2012. After batting .208 with one RBI in 24 plate appearances in spring training, Cora was released by the defending World Series champions on March 25, 2012.