Ex-Astros bench coach Alex Cora is breaking his silence on the 2017 sign-stealing scandal ... saying the ENTIRE team was responsible for cheating, and he shouldn't be the only one taking the blame.
Of course, Cora received a season-long suspension and lost his gig as manager of the Boston Red Sox after the MLB's investigation determined he and player Carlos Beltran played major roles in the Astros' complex sign-stealing scheme.
Although Astros manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow lost their jobs as well ... Cora wants to make it clear he and Beltran were NOT acting alone -- and the whole team was in on it.
"If there is one thing I am absolutely sure of, it is that it was not a two-man show," Cora told ESPN. "We all did it. And let me be very clear that I am not denying my responsibility, because we were all responsible."
Cora says he fully deserved his suspension ... but hints he's not happy with the lack of more punishment being handed down.
"We made a mistake as a group, the entire [Astros] team. What happened was something that, if you ask anyone involved, no one is proud of it. We're all at fault. Everybody. We're all responsible."
"Everyone who was part of the team from around mid-May until the end of the season, we are all responsible."
As for those who claim the Astros 2017 World Series title is tainted ... Cora doesn't disagree.
"I understand why people think that our championship is not valid, and it's our fault that they think that. I am being honest and I apologize for what happened and for the mistakes we made as a group."
"I understand why people are disappointed. I am disappointed in myself. At the time, one doesn't think about the consequences. It was something that kept growing and growing, and in the end, it was wrong."
"We made a mistake and I must pay for the consequences of my actions."