The Cincinnati Reds reportedly are turning to a veteran manager for dugout leadership as a source indicates the club will hire Terry Francona as its next manager. Francona will take over from interim manager Freddie Benavides. Benavides took over after the Reds dismissed David Bell during another lackluster season for the National League stalwarts.
This move is a bit surprising because Francona, a longtime manager and player in MLB, stepped away from his managerial positi0n with the Cleveland Guardians a year ago. Francona did so at the time due to health concerns. With him joining the Reds, it appears that Francona’s health is in a much better place.
Terry Francona Played For Cincinnati Reds
During six seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, Bell compiled a 409-456 record. Francona does have ties to Cincinnati as he played for the Reds back in 1987. In 102 games, Francona hit .227 with three home runs and 12 RBIs, The Associated Press reported. Francona, though, is no spring chicken himself. He will turn 66 years old next April.
While modern-day MLB managers might have a different style, Franc0na, nicknamed “Tito,” goes by some old-school beliefs. Over his tenures with the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, and Guardians, Francona got his players focused on the basics. Bunting runners over from first base or employing hit-and-run efforts. Allowing starting pitchers to work into either the sixth or seventh innings before turning to his bullpen. The Cincinnati Reds hope his efforts will bring better results than David Bell got in his tenure.
These and other traits are what have made Terry Francona a beloved manager, especially with the Red Sox (where he won a World Series) and Guardians. Francona’s tenure with the Phillies did not go well. Fans turned on him and, well, showed their displeasure emphatically. Some Phillies fans resorted to slashing Francona’s tires on his car on, of all days, Fan Appreciation Day. He had four consecutive losing seasons and Philadelphia sports fans, known for booing Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, let Francona know their feelings.
Yet Terry Francona will put his overall record up against other managers. In 23 years as a major-league manager, “Tito” is 1,950-1,672.
Medical Issues Forced Francona Out
Medical issues slowed Terry Francona down in his final year with Cleveland. “I never was real concerned about the word retire,” Francona said in an interview last year, according to The AP. “I guess when you say retire, it’s like, well, you’re going home and not doing anything. Don’t feel that way either. We’ll figure something out that makes sense.”
That win total puts him at 13th for career victories as a manager. Casey Stengel (1,995) and Leo Durocher (2,008), two other legendary MLB managers, are in front and behind Francona. One thing that these three have in common is that fans and players loved them tremendously. Francona will not find it hard to make friends in Cincinnati as manager of the Cincinnati Reds, either.
In his first season with Boston, Francona led a team of self-described “idiots” to baseball’s Promised Land. The Red Sox rallied from a 3-0 deficit against the arch-nemesis New York Yankees, highlighted by Curt Schilling’s “bloody sock” start in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. In 2004, Boston beat the Yankees and swept past the St. Louis Cardinals for a World Series title. It was the first one for the Red Sox in 86 years, making Francona a household name and forever legend.
In 2011, Francona’s time with Boston ended. He stepped away from active managerial work for a year, going to work as a broadcaster. But Cleveland opened its doors and Francona stepped through them. He had a connection with Cleveland as his dad Tito Francona played for the then-Indians. Terry Francona played 62 games for Cleveland in 1988.
Cleveland Rocked With ‘Tito’
Through 11 seasons, Francona’s teams reached the American League playoffs seven times. Cleveland reached the World Series in 2016 but lost to the Chicago Cubs in a thrilling seven-game series. Terry Francona knew that his father was a living legend to the city’s baseball fans. Tito Francona played with Cleveland from the late 1950s into the 1960s. Every Cleveland baseball fan who grew up loving the team learned all about Tito.
Then, Tito’s son, whose nickname is his father’s first name, came calling.
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