Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora says Bill Belichick’s good luck text was “highlight of the year”

BOSTON – A sure sign for Red Sox manager Alex Cora that things are getting serious in the baseball playoffs: He received a text from Patriots coach Bill Belichick wishing him good luck.

“It’s like the highlight of the year,” Cora exclaimed ahead of Game 3 of the AL Division Series against Tampa Bay on Sunday. “I got the text for this random area code. It’s cool, to be honest with you, that someone of their status wishes us luck.”

Cora said Belichick reached out ahead of Tuesday’s wildcard win over the New York Yankees, and texted again afterwards. Although the two have met a number of times, including when the 2018 World Series champions were honored before a Patriots game, “It’s more personal,” Cora said.

The sympathetic Red Sox manager said he saw Belichick in a different light than what the austere coach shows through the media. Cora, who has one World Series ring as a Red Sox player and another as a manager, wondered aloud to reporters if he could become all Belichickian if he won a few more.

“I won’t promise you,” he said, “but I don’t think I’m going to change.”