BALTIMORE -- Amid the chaos of a sudden managerial change and coaching shake-up came the calm, reassuring voice and familiar face of Chad Tracy.
In Tracy, the Red Sox might have found the perfect interim manager to replace Alex Cora, whose 1,161-game run ended in a surprise Saturday night meeting at the team hotel with owner John Henry, president/CEO Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
While Cora and six members of his coaching staff were in the process of departing from Baltimore on Saturday night, Tracy was on his way south from Triple-A Worcester, the team he has managed since 2022.
Tracy estimates he got to the team hotel around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday. Twelve hours later, there was a game to play, and he managed his Red Sox to a crisp 5-3 victory over the Orioles.
With that came a beer shower mixed with shaving cream, and the official lineup card from clubhouse attendant Tommy McLaughlin.
During those four-plus seasons, Tracy managed the likes of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran. In Minor League rehab assignments, he spent time with Trevor Story and Garrett Whitlock. Tracy had also been a fixture at Major League Spring Training the last five years.
“Chad has been in the organization for a while,” said Breslow. “He's managed at the highest level of our Minor League system and he's familiar with and has meaningful relationships with a majority of our roster, given the younger players that we do have. He's demonstrated an ability to get the most out of that group.”
In an imperfect situation, Tracy represented the perfect choice.
“I think when you’re familiar with somebody during a time like this [it helps], and someone like Trace steps in, he's tremendous at what he does,” said Anthony. “And I think there's a reason that everyone who goes through Triple-A and is in Worcester with him loves him, and we know he's gonna have our back and do everything he can during this kind of tough time. We didn't expect it, but now you kind of just adapt and overcome it, and Trace is gonna be great.”
Will Tracy manage the Red Sox for at least the rest of ‘26?
“We believe that Chad is the right guy to handle this transition and we're going to put all of our effort into supporting him to do that,” Breslow said. “And we'll kind of figure out where that leads us.”
At 40 years old, Tracy represents the youth needed for a young team, but he also has years of baseball wisdom that comes from someone who is the son of a former Major League manager.
Yes, Chad Tracy is Jim’s son. Jim managed in the Major Leagues for 11 seasons, starting out with the Dodgers in 2001 (Cora was a player on his roster), and also having stints with the Pirates ('06-07) and Rockies ('09-12).
In fact, Jim made it to Camden Yards on Sunday to see his son manage his first Major League game. Though Chad needs a bench coach, he joked that his father won’t be filling that vacancy.
For Jim, there was also a mix of emotions in that he was thrilled for his son, but also sad for Cora, given their personal connection.
“Extremely proud day. Somewhat bittersweet because of the man that was here,” Jim Tracy said. “He is a very, very special person in the Tracy family for two reasons. First, because of the way he treated our son once he got to the Red Sox organization, and also, you have to look and realize there were some very special years for me in Los Angeles that Alex Cora was very much a part of.”
Jim knows better than anyone how hard it is to get a Major League managing job. For that reason, he never assumed that Chad would follow in his footsteps. But he sure did hope.
“He’s managed in the Minor Leagues for years,” Jim said. “He was a Minor League field coordinator when he was working for the Angels. The thing that was so gratifying for me today, I didn’t see anything as I watched his movements and doing his thing in the flow of the game, nothing looked like it overwhelmed him and I didn’t think it would.”
Perhaps that is because of a piece of wisdom Jim gave his son years ago, and probably repeated it several times thereafter.
“I always told him at each and every level, 'It will get faster and faster,'” Jim said. “'But stay ahead of what you’re looking at.'”
True to form, Chad didn’t feel nervous once the game got going.
“Like I told you guys before, I felt like when the game started, I would probably feel calm,” Chad said. “You look out and it's a baseball diamond and you're gonna play a game. So pretty, pretty quickly, I felt at ease."