Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is no stranger to receiving threats online from baseball fans hiding behind their computer or phone screen.
In the wake of Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks‘ recent revelation that he’s received death threats, Cora told reporters before the first half of Friday doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles that he empathized with the hurler.
“We’re in the public eye, and people feel they have the right to say whatever they want,” the 49-year-old said, according to an Associated Press and ESPN report. “Sometimes, it comes from real people. Other times, it comes from burner accounts, fake people. It puts everyone in a tough spot.”
Cora praised Hendriks for the way he handled the hateful messages he received following Boston’s loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday.
The former infielder said that Hendriks — who posted on Instagram on Thursday to condemn the offensive messages toward him and his family — gets what the three-time All-Star was trying to do.
“I understand what he’s trying to accomplish,” Cora said, per the report. “We have to protect our players, and we have to voice what we think.”
Cora: Criticism After Sign-Stealing Scandal Was ‘Dangerous,’ Family Was ‘Afraid’
Cora has been the target of online criticism and threats on numerous occasions over the years.
He received heavy backlash in the early 2020s following his involvement in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. Cora served as the Astros bench coach in 2017 and joined Boston ahead of the 2018 campaign.
Cora and the Red Sox mutually agreed to part ways ahead of the 2020 season, and he was suspended for the entire pandemic-shortened campaign as well. He was rehired ahead of the 2021 campaign.
He told media members on Friday that he contacted MLB’s security division after receiving the suspension.
“I put my family in a tough spot, especially when the news came out. It was dangerous, and we were afraid, to be honest,” Cora said. “I don’t want to go into details, but they did an amazing job.”
More recently, he was targeted by fans on social media after attending his daughter’s college graduation, which caused him to miss a home game against the Mets.
“If it’s up to me, I’ll bring my daughter here and go through every account and filter it,” Cora said, according to the report.
Red Sox Pitcher Further Details ‘Go Hang Yourself,’ ‘Cancer’ Comments
Hendriks is in his second year in Beantown but missed all of 2024 due to an elbow injury.
The 36-year-old Australian also underwent treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2023 when he was in his final season with the Chicago White Sox.
Hendriks said in his Instagram post on Thursday: “threats against my life and my wife’s life are horrible and cruel,” adding “leaving comments to tell me to commit suicide and how you wish I died of cancer is disgusting and vile.”
He opened up further to reporters on Friday ahead of Game 1 vs. the Orioles, including Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.
“Hendriks on social media threats and hate messages that he and other players receive: ‘This is almost a daily occurrence for almost everyone in this clubhouse. That’s the upsetting part, and it’s not being controlled in the right way.’ Said it’s gotten much worse due to gambling,” Speier posted on Bluesky.
Hendriks said, regarding sports gambling, that fans have called him out personally on social media, saying “‘hey, you blew my parlay. Go (expletive) yourself’ kind of ‘expletive.’ And then it’s, ‘go hang yourself. You should kill yourself. I wish you died from cancer.’ That one kind of hit a little too close to home for me with everything I’ve gone through.”
Cora agreed that with the rise of sports gambling, there’s now a more “dangerous path.”
“A decision, a pitch, a play, it puts them in a bad spot and they take it personally,” he said. “That’s not my fault. You have to be responsible with what you’re doing.”
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Alex Cora Discusses Fear After Astros Cheating Scandal, Red Sox Pitcher’s Death Threats