Alex Cora Bragged About Houston Astros Cheating During 2017 World Series, According To New Book

The Houston Astros' 2017 World Series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers has since been marred by cheating revelations.

Famously, the Astros used an elaborate system of electronic sign stealing and trash can banging. That process helped propel some of their hitters to the best season of their career.

Carlos Correa, for example, had his highest offensive output in 2017. That year was 17% better than his overall career offensive line.

Generally, the players and officials involved have been viewed negatively in the years since the story was revealed.

READ: HOUSTON ASTROS CHEATING INVESTIGATION REVEALED FORMER GM JEFF LUHNOW DELETED PHONE DATA

Their seeming lack of contrition and MLB's lax punishment contributed.

Now a new book has revealed that instead of shame over cheating, some of those involved felt pride.

Alex Cora Proud Of Astros Cheating

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has been named as someone who reveled in his part in the 2017 cheating scandal. Cora served as the bench coach during that fateful season, and was named in a new book called "Winning Fixes Everything" by Evan Drellich.

According to the book, after arriving in Boston, Cora was known to “occasionally talk about the Astros’ sign-stealing from 2017, even brag, sometimes in a late-night setting."

Red Sox manager Alex Cora. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

The book continues with an even more obvious admission that the Astros stole the 2017 World Series.

“We knew the Astros did ,” one Red Sox player told Drellich, “because Alex Cora told us. He said that when they played the Dodgers, ‘We already knew what everybody was throwing before we even got on base. We didn’t have to get on base.’"

Cora also apparently revealed that the team knew they'd gotten away with cheating.

“We stole that (expletive) World Series,” he allegedly said.

Well that certainly doesn't make MLB look any better.

MLB's Light Penalties Did Not Help The Situation

It had been said at the time that the light punishments handed out by the league were to encourage people to come forward about what happened.

But many of the key people involved were hit with minor penalties, or none at all. Cora won another World Series in Boston and remains their manager. A.J. Hinch sat out for a time before immediately getting another job in Detroit.

None of the players were punished at all, and while the team received fines and draft penalties, they kept their rings, banner and trophy.

While some have apologized for their role, the initial lack of humility and apparent defiance rubbed fans the wrong way.

Now we have an answer for why their behavior was so off-putting.

The Astros knew they cheated and were proud that it helped them "steal" a World Series.