Red Sox owner John Henry and Chairman Tom Werner addressed the media Wednesday following Manager Alex Cora's firing. (Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — At a press conference at Fenway Park Wednesday, the ownership group of the Boston Red Sox addressed Manager Alex Cora's firing following a sign-stealing scandal—but said they couldn't comment further because the MLB's investigation into the team was still ongoing.
Team owner John Henry said they were working with the MLB "to the fullest extent possible" in their investigation into allegations the Red Sox engaged in sign stealing, and asked fans and the public to "reserve judgement until MLB completes this investigation and determines whether rules were violated."
"I want to make it clear that we take very, very seriously any allegations made against members of our organization, and we investigate them fully," Henry said. "We've all held this wonderful baseball club to a very high standard."
The press conference was also attended by the team's Chairman Tom Werner, President Sam Kennedy, and Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom.
Kennedy stressed that, despite the fact that the investigation into the team is still underway, they "absolutely" believe the Red Sox 2018 World Series was won fair and square.
Werner said what Cora did in Houston was wrong.
"Alex was professional, understanding that he had made a mistake," Werner said. "So, after a couple of conversations, we all mutually agreed that we needed to part ways ... It was a sad day, because we all have such respect for Alex. He admitted that what he did was wrong, but that doesn't mitigate, in our opinion, the extraordinary talent that he has, and we continue to be very fond of Alex."
As for what comes next for the team and who will manage it, that remains unclear—and Bloom acknowledged that the timing wasn't ideal.
"There's no question that it's an unusual time to be doing a managerial search, being at the point in the winter that we are, being this close to spring training," Bloom said. "It's impossible for that not to be a factor in how we proceed, but it's going to be the only factor, and we want to make sure we do this justice."
WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) reports
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