After winning three American League Manager of the Year Awards today it was announced a legend will return to the MLB next season. Ex-Red Sox World Series Winning Manager Terry Francona has signed on with the Cincinnati Reds for a three-year deal. Stepping back into baseball, Francona one of the most winning managers in the MLB, Cinnincatniti fans are delighted at the latest decision for the clubhouse.
Francona’s Early Days
Being the 22nd pick of the 1980 MLB first-round draft, Terry Francona started his full-bodied MLB career over four decades ago. Nicknamed “Tito” he started out as a contact hitter for the Montreal Expos. He was later part of a number of one-year contracts as a player with one team, the Reds. Now Francona has a chance to return to Cincinnati as a sage. With his playing career ending in 1989 upon his retirement Francona has had multiple decades of managing under his belt.
Tito started off in the Chicago White Sox organization building his confidence in the minor league coaching arena. Managing the AA Birmingham Barons from 1993-1995 he won Southern League Manager of the Year and Baseball America’s Minor League Manager of the Year in 1993. Then in 1994, Francona was a top managerial candidate by Baseball America, the same year Michael Jordan decided to give baseball a go.
Ex-Red Sox Manager Signs 3-Year Deal
A recent MLB.com article posted Friday, discusses Terry Francona’s major league manager career, “Francona, 65, who stepped down as Guardians manager after the 2023 season, returns to the dugout having managed three teams over a 23-year career. He has a 1,950-1,672 record with the Phillies (1997-2000), Red Sox (2004-2011) and Guardians (2013-2023).
He led the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007. Francona’s hiring comes 12 days after the Reds parted ways with David Bell. In six seasons under Bell, Cincinnati went 409-456 (.473), never finishing above third place in the National League Central outside of the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign (31-29 record, second-place finish).”
Terry has done an incredible job winning in his career, bringing teams together, and has a knack for seeing how to play on clubhouse shortcomings. He has led teams to the playoffs eleven times in his career and will not leave anything on the table with his return in 2025. The Reds are over the moon for this news today sharing on their Twitter account one sentence repeated six times, “Terry Francona is a Cinncinati Red.” With this three-time AL Manager of the Year, fans and the clubhouse alike are celebrating this weekend for what the future may bring.
Winning Manager Of Yesterday Returns
Red Sox currently managed by Alex Cora were coached into the World Series twice under Francona’s watch. Tito is currently ranked the 13th most-winning MLB manager of all time. With 1,950 regular season wins he ranks among the best managers baseball has ever seen. Most managers who rank higher than Francona are already Hall of Famers, including former Reds manager Sparky Anderson.
Terry Francona will take his experience from the Red Sox, Guardians, and Phillies and go for gold in Cincinnati next season. He is 65 years old and after stepping down from the Guardians in 2023 it may seem that he is discontent with how things ended. Tito wants to go out on top and the two rings in 2004 and 2007 for the Red Sox simply just aren’t enough for Francona. Francona officially will be eligible for election into the Hall of Fame come December 2026. Cincinnati and the rest of the MLB can expect Francona to have an above 500 season, as he has notably brought teams to 90+ wins in more than twelve different seasons.
Future Hall Of Famer Francona Returns
The Boston Red Sox have no choice but to accept that Terry Francona will be a part of the history at Fenway, and now he is returning to baseball. Boston fans hearing the news Friday that Francona will return means more competition and a chance to get Tito what he wants, to end his career with a bang. Will the Reds and Red Sox meet post-season next year? As this season ends there are already exciting changes happening with more to come.
As for Red Sox fans some of them loved Francona and some of them were frustrated by the end of his tenure in Boston. It will be interesting to watch Alex Cora and Terry Francona’s records next season as they both attempt a playoff run come next October. One thing Red Sox fans know about Francona is that he will not go quietly and if this is his last three-year run (he does have an option for an additional year) he undoubtedly will go out winning.
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