During a recent game at Rate Field, Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet pitched 7 ⅓ innings without allowing a hit, igniting excitement among the 18,840 fans present. Manager Alex Cora, who had never witnessed a no-hitter in his managerial career, felt immense pressure while contemplating when to pull Crochet. After Chase Meidroth's hit, Cora made the decision to replace Crochet, explaining the difficulty of balancing the allure of history with the long-term needs of the team and acknowledging that prioritizing the season was essential.
Cora seemed to be on the mound to take the ball from Crochet before Jarren Duran had even thrown the ball back in after retrieving Meidroth's single. It was time for Garrett Whitlock to try to preserve a 2-0 lead and help the Red Sox escape the South Side with at least one win. Cora had promised Crochet that he'd let him keep going until a ball fell in. But that promise was getting close to being broken as Crochet's pitch count climbed into the mid-nineties.
Honestly, I've never been so happy for the opponent to get a hit. You've got to make decisions. It's not easy, man. You're in that dugout and you've got a chance to do something special. But at the same time, you have to balance our season.
Cora's management of Crochet during his no-hitter was a balancing act between the excitement of history and the practical needs of the season, as he noted: "He kept saying he was feeling good but, still, you have to put everything in perspective. That's the hard part of this job."
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