In an unusual move for the middle of a baseball season, the Detroit Tigers and third base coach Joey Cora have mutually agreed to go their separate ways, manager A.J. Hinch announced Tuesday.
The separation is effective immediately. First-year quality control coach Billy Boyer will take over the third base coaching duties for the remainder of the season.
Cora, 61, was partway through his third season with Detroit and his tenth overall as a third base coach in the major leagues. Before joining the Tigers, he spent two seasons with the New York Mets and five with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
A former infielder who spent 11 seasons across four different major league organizations, Cora was widely recognized for his aggressive style of waving runners toward extra bases.
Data from Baseball Reference shows the 2025 Tigers successfully took extra bases at a 54.1% clip — the second-best rate recorded since 1969. The only team to top that mark was the 1975 Oakland Athletics, who posted a 55.1% rate.
Hinch addressed the move with reporters, acknowledging it would come as a shock to many. “I know that news is going to be surprising to a lot of people,” he 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 had some philosophical differences, and we both just agreed it’s probably best for the players and everybody to separate.”
The manager said Cora reached out to request a meeting on Monday, though the two did not actually sit down together until Tuesday. Hinch emphasized that the parting was entirely baseball-related.
Tigers players found out about the coaching change through a text message. Catcher Jake Rogers said the news hit him hard. “He wants to win, and he brings that aggressiveness every day. I can’t speak for the other guys, but it hit me kind of hard. He’s part of the fam.”
