Former Red Sox ace reveals himself as owner of 'Sh—ing your pants and changing your shirt' Alex Cora firing quote

After Alex Cora was fired by the Boston Red Sox Saturday, quotes flooded out from current and former players in the days that followed. Some were public, others were anonymous.

One of the most famous examples was tweeted by WEEI's Rob Bradford, where an anonymous player described the situation as "Sh—ing your pants and changing your shirt."

This post has 1.3 million views at the time of writing, with fans and journalists alike clamoring to know which player was behind the anonymous quote. 

In a Friday edition of Bradford's podcast, Baseball Isn't Boring, he said that former Red Sox MVP Dustin Pedroia was the most popular guess, but that it was actually the guest on the episode in question.

Woke up to a text from a former Red Sox player who summed up Saturday's moves: 'It's like shitting your pants and changing your shirt.'

Here's who delivered the quote heard 'round the baseball world.

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Who said, 'Sh—ing your pants and changing your shirt' quote about Alex Cora firing?

Former Red Sox ace Josh Beckett revealed himself as the man behind the quote Friday. A former Cy Young runner-up with Boston in 2007, Beckett is a familiar face in the Red Sox sphere.

Despite being the man behind the quote, Beckett insists that this wasn't entirely his doing. 

"I can't take credit for the quote itself," Beckett told Bradford. "Somebody, certainly along the way has told me that about something." 

While Beckett can't remember the context in which he heard that quote for the first time, it nonetheless remained etched in his mind. Now, it is etched in the minds of a plethora of baseball fans.

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What did Josh Beckett say about Alex Cora firing?

Beckett lies at an interesting crossroads between former manager Alex Cora and current Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow. He played with both at different points in his career, but explicitly called Alex Cora "a friend." He also worked with Alex Cora for the Houston Astros in 2017, where Cora was the bench coach and Beckett was a studio analyst.

When asked more about the decision to fire Cora, Beckett sung Cora's praises.

"I know AC really well and I thought he was the perfect guy to be [in Boston] and kind of stable that ship." Beckett told Bradford.

During their playing days, Beckett emphasized Cora's focus and leadership, even as a bench player. Cora, an infielder, was great with picking up details about pitchers, and would often give Beckett advice. 

"He would come to me and be like 'hey, you know, you're speeding up on your off-speed pitches again." Beckett said to Bradford. "And if he was getting it, the other team was probably getting it as well." 

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