When Major League Baseball suspended Alex Cora for the 2020 season for his role in a cheating scandal with the Houston Astros back in January, the last thing that was on his mind was coming back as manager of the Boston Red Sox.

"I knew I wanted to come back to the game, but I didn't know how fast, you know. ... Little by little, [my family] understood that probably not this year, but probably in two years or three years, something was gonna open up and there was a chance to get back to the game," Cora told reporters during a reintroductory press conference Tuesday. "But, you know, honestly, like I said before, so soon? You know, I never saw it."

Speaking at home plate of Fenway Park next to Sox President and CEO Sam Kennedy, Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom and General Mananger Brian O’Halloran, the prodigal manager was living out something he admits he didn't think would happen. But he made sure to hit all the right notes of a sports mea culpa, apologizing to everyone from his family to the organization.

"I want to make sure that everybody knows that this situation is part of who I am, you know, for the rest of my career," Cora said. "As a man, I have to deal with it. I don't want people to make it seem like it's a great comeback story. I don't want that."

Cora didn't get into details about what happened in 2017 with the Astros, but he publicly apologized multiple times for what happened. And he acknowledged that he might get hate for his actions, much like Houston did at the beginning of this past season.

"It's something that if I didn't feel that, on a personal level, if I didn't feel prepared for what's coming, I probably would have declined the phone call or text," he said. "I'd say, 'You know what, Chaim, I'm not ready for this. Thank you, but no thanks.' I know it's gonna be tough in certain places, but I understand."

Bloom said that when he was getting ready to speak to Cora about the possibility of bringing him back, that he wanted to be as thorough as possible.

"Not just for determing his fit as a manager, but also because this is a big deal what happened," he said. "And it was an event that, it took its toll on all of us. Obviously, Alex has described that with respect with himself, but we all went through something. And there was a lot to process."

There are a lot of hot takes about what Cora did, and how baseball should feel about him being back in Boston.

This much is indisputable: Cora played a key role in one of the biggest scandals that has ever rocked the game. But he also publicly faced a humbling punishment from MLB, served a season in exile and has seemingly said and done everything right since then.

In pro sports, the single metric that is valued over everything else, no matter what anyone says, is winning. And under Cora, the Red Sox won a lot — at least in that 2018 season. And after the Sox finished in dead last in the AL East in 2020, winning is in especially high demand in Boston.

But coaches and managers have some of the most fickle job security in sports. And so while Cora may be on his best behavior and the Red Sox tout their faith in him and the lessons he's learned, it can't be ignored that they brought him back because they believe he can help them win more games.

And if that doesn't happen, don't be surprised if Cora finds himself packing up his belongings at Fenway Park one more time.