DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Tigers third base coach Joey Cora has left the club in the middle of his third season on the job because of what manager A.J. Hinch described on Tuesday as “philosophical differences.”“I know that news is going to be surprising to a lot of people,” Hinch said. “I love Joey. Joey loved being a Tiger. He’s been instrumental in his time here. But similar to a family, sometimes it doesn’t last forever.“We both just agreed it’s probably best for the players and everybody to separate,” Hinch added.Cora, a native of Puerto Rico, is the older brother of former Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who was fired earlier this season. Both played in the major leagues for more than a decade as middle infielders.Billy Boyer, a first-year member of Hinch’s staff, will move from his position handling “quality control” to third base coach for the remainder of this season, the club said before Tuesday night’s game against the Athletics.
Cora has been a base coach for most of the past decade, spending five seasons with Pittsburgh and two with the New York Mets. During that time he’s developed a reputation for challenging opposing fielders by aggressively signaling for runners to take third or try to score on balls in play.
