When Boston Red Sox players rallied behind a sign-stealing video coordinator with financial donations during his unpaid suspension

Boston Red Sox fans will never forget the 2018 season because of the sign-stealing incident. Although more attention went to the Houston Astros' sign-stealing case in 2017, as they were punished heavily, the Red Sox were also punished, but a little less.

J.T. Watkins, the coordinator of video replays for the Red Sox at the time, received a penalty. He currently works for the Dodgers. Mookie Betts, who played for the 2018 Red Sox and is currently with the Dodgers, spoke out about the organization providing Watkins with financial support while he was on suspension. Since the ban was unpaid, all the players pitched in to help him. Mookie Betts said:

"We all chipped in because he did so much for us."

Most people thought Red Sox gave money to Watkins because he helped them in the sign-stealing case; however, that's not the case.

"The perception is, 'Oh, we gave him money because ...' No. He's very good at his job. He was the one up at 3 o'clock in the morning, scouting, making sure of everything we needed to do."

Boston Red Sox parted ways with the manager after the sign-stealing scandal

The Red Sox parted ways with manager Alex Cora following a sign-stealing incident involving the Houston Astros. Cora served as the bench coach during their World Series-winning 2017 season.

Boston Red Sox team

After receiving one-year suspensions from Major League Baseball for their respective roles in the incident, the Astros announced they were letting go of manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow.

According to the league, Cora planned to install a monitor displaying centerfield camera footage, enabling players to read the signs and notify batters. Given the league's conclusions, the Red Sox declared that Cora's continued affiliation with the team would not be viable.