Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora had the rare positive quote about his team’s most hated rival, the New York Yankees. Cora recently praised manager Aaron Boone, who has been the subject of heavy criticism during his tenure.

Whether this criticism is fair or not, we now know where Cora stands on his opponent. The quote comes from Chris Kirschner of The Athletic:

“That guy over there, man, gets a lot of (expletive) from people but he’s one of the best.”

Since taking over as the Yankees skipper in 2018, Boone has won three American League East titles, made three AL championship series appearances, and finally broke through for his first pennant last fall. While New York fell in the World Series, it was a monumental season for Boone’s team and perhaps bought him a few more years at the helm.

Managing the Yankees is not like managing other teams. Between fan and media expectations, as well as internal pressure to win, nothing short of multiple titles will satisfy the requirements.

However, even with some postseason shortcomings, Boone has done a terrific job.

New York has finished worse than second in the division only one time (a fourth-place result in 2023 with Aaron Judge missing over 50 games) and has never gone below .500. This includes two 100+ win seasons (2018 and 2019).

That elusive ring still haunts Boone and much like his predecessor, Joe Girardi, he has to feel the pressure to deliver sooner rather than later. Girardi won a World Series in 2009 but was fired after a 2017 ALCS loss.

Boone is well-respected by his players and clearly by his peers, too. He and Cora will duke it out for another season as the franchises each expect a division title in 2025.