Background and career
Terry Jon Francona (born April 22, 1959), nicknamed "Tito", is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously managed the Cleveland Indians/Guardians, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies. Francona played in MLB from 1981 to 1988 for the Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, and Milwaukee Brewers. After a four-year stint as the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, Francona was hired to manage the Red Sox in 2004 and led the team to their first championship since 1918. He won another World Series with Boston in 2007 and continued to manage the team until the end of the 2011 season. In 2013, Francona became the Cleveland Indians’ manager, leading them to an American League pennant in 2016, a 22-game win streak during the 2017 season (the longest in American League history and the second-longest in MLB history), and became Cleveland's all-time leader in wins by a manager.
Francona was born on April 22, 1959, in Aberdeen, South Dakota, to Tito Francona (1933–2018), who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1956 to 1970, and Roberta Jackson (1932–1992). He is of Italian descent. Francona grew up in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. He attended New Brighton Area High School and played for the baseball team.
Francona attended the University of Arizona, where he played college baseball for the Arizona Wildcats baseball team. Francona also represented the United States at the 1979 Pan American Games. The Arizona Wildcats won the 1980 College World Series and Francona was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Francona won the 1980 Golden Spikes Award. The Montreal Expos selected Francona in the first round of the 1980 MLB draft with the 22nd overall selection. After briefly playing in the minor leagues, Francona made his major league debut with Montreal on August 19, 1981, a week after the end of that summer's player strike. He appeared mainly as an outfielder that first year, and he went 4-for-12 in the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, an extra playoff round used in that strike-divided season. The Expos won that series, three games to two. Francona shifted to first base, where he ultimately played 100 games more than he had in the outfield. He also developed a reputation as a contact hitter, with few home runs, walks, or strikeouts. The Expos released Francona after the 1985 season, during which his batting average had slipped to .267 after posting a .346 average in limited action in 1984. Baseball writer Bill James described him as a 'worthless player'. He went on to sign one-year contracts with the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, and Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers re-signed Francona for 1990, but he only played in three games for the Brewers that year, the last on April 19. In 10 seasons and 708 games, he posted a .274 career average, with 16 home runs and 143 runs batted in. He also made an appearance as a pitcher with Milwaukee on May 15, 1989, late in a game that the Brewers lost 12–2; he threw 12 pitches and struck out one batter (Stan Javier) on three pitches.
After retiring as a player, Francona began coaching, spending several years in the Chicago White Sox organization. In 1991, he managed the Sarasota White Sox of the Gulf Coast League, a rookie league. In 1992, he managed the South Bend White Sox of the mid-level Class A Midwest League. As manager of the AA franchise Birmingham Barons in 1993–95, he posted a 223–203 record and earned several distinctions. In 1993, when Birmingham won the Southern League championship, Francona was named Southern League Manager of the Year and Baseball America's Minor League Manager of the Year. In 1994, the year Michael Jordan played for Birmingham, Baseball America named him the top candidate to make the jump to the big leagues. Francona managed in the Dominican Winter League with the Águilas Cibaeñas and won the championship and the Serie del Caribe in 1995–96. Francona became third-base coach for the Detroit Tigers in 1996, working under their new skipper, Buddy Bell, a former Reds teammate of Francona.
After the 1996 season, he was hired as manager of the Phillies, who had won the NL pennant in 1993 but then had three consecutive losing seasons. In Francona's four seasons (1997–2000) as the Phils' skipper, the club never rose above third place in the National League East. His best finish with the Phillies was 77–85 in 1999. In 1998 and 1999, the Phillies finished in third place, behind the Atlanta Braves and their division-rival New York Mets. He was fired after the 2000 season, finishing his Phillies tenure with a 285–363 record. Francona spent the following season as a special assistant to the general manager with the Cleveland Indians in 2001, which was followed by two one-year terms as a bench coach for the Texas Rangers (2002) and Oakland Athletics (2003).
The Red Sox hired Francona to manage their club in 2004, after the team lost the 2003 American League Championship Series and manager Grady Little's contract was not renewed. Francona led the Red Sox to a 98–64 record in 2004, the second-best record in the American League behind their biggest rival, the New York Yankees. The club gelled in the second half and won more games than any other team in the American League after the All-Star break. As the American League wild card, the Red Sox swept the AL West champion Anaheim Angels, three games to none, in the Division Series. In the 2004 American League Championship Series, the Red Sox fell behind the Yankees, three games to none, including a 19–8 loss in Game 3 at home in Fenway Park. However, the club regained its composure and won the last four games of the series, the first time in Major League Baseball history that a team rallied from an 0–3 deficit to win a playoff series (only the third team to even make it as far as Game 6, and the first team to force a Game 7 after trailing a series three games to zero). The Red Sox then swept the St. Louis Cardinals 4–0 in the 2004 World Series to win the sixth world title in franchise history, and their first since 1918. The long-awaited victory ended 86 years of frustration for Red Sox fans. Francona and the Red Sox posted a 95–67 record in 2005, tied with New York for first in the American League East. However, the Yankees were awarded the division due to their 10–9 record against Boston during the season. Once again the American League Wild Card winner, the Red Sox were swept in the ALDS by the Chicago White Sox, who went on to win the 2005 World Series. The 2006 Red Sox started strong but stumbled in the second half of the season after many key players suffered extensive injuries. The team posted a 23–35 record over the final two months and finished third in the AL East at 86–76, missing the postseason for the first time since 2002. It was also the first time Boston had finished lower than second place since 1997. Boston rebounded in 2007, winning the AL East for the first time since 1995, finishing two games ahead of the Yankees. Under Francona's leadership, the Sox swept the Angels in the Division Series before dropping three of the first four games to the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS. The Sox, facing elimination, went on to win their next three games, defeating Cleveland to advance to the 2007 World Series, where they swept the Colorado Rockies in four games. Francona is the only manager in Major League history to win his first eight consecutive World Series games and just the second manager to guide two Red Sox clubs to World Series titles, the other being Bill "Rough" Carrigan, who led Boston to back-to-back championships in 1915 and 1916. On February 24, 2008, the Red Sox announced that they had extended Francona's contract. Instead of expiring at the end of the 2008 season, it would expire after the 2011 season. The team also held club options for 2012 and 2013. Francona was guaranteed a total of $12 million over the first three years of the contract, plus a $750,000 buyout to be received if his 2012 and 2013 options were not exercised. The Red Sox followed up their second championship of Francona's tenure with a 95–67 record in 2008. Though the Yankees were originally thought to be their top competition for the AL East crown, the surprise Tampa Bay Rays eventually took the division, relegating Boston to the Wild Card. The Red Sox defeated the Angels once again in the ALDS, this time in four games, meeting the Rays in the ALCS. Boston fell behind three games to one in the series but once again staged a remarkable rally. Trailing 7–0 in the seventh inning of Game 5, the Red Sox stormed back with eight unanswered runs to win, the largest single-game comeback ever by a team facing elimination. They then won Game 6 to force a winner-take-all contest once again. This time Boston was unable to finish the job, however, as the Rays took Game 7 to claim the AL Pennant. As of October 1, 2008, Francona's career regular-season managerial record was 755–703 (.518), while his post-season record was 22–9 (.710). Among managers who have managed at least 20 post-season games, he has the highest winning percentage. Francona won his first seven playoff elimination games (not losing until being swept by the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 ALDS) and first nine ALCS elimination games (not losing until Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS at the Tampa Bay Rays). On June 2, 2009, Francona recorded his 500th win as manager of the Red Sox, making him the third manager in club history to have 500 wins. The only other two to win at least 500 games as manager of the Red Sox are Joe Cronin (1,071), and Pinky Higgins (560). On May 6, 2010, Francona became the fourth person to manage 1,000 games for the Red Sox. On July 23, 2011, Francona got his 1,000th win as a manager, but his team collapsed historically in September, finishing 7–20 and squandering a nine-game lead over the Rays for the AL Wild Card spot. Following the season, the Red Sox declined to exercise Francona's 2012 option. He finished his Red Sox career with a 744–552 record in the regular season—second to Cronin in victories, but tops in winning percentage (.574) among those having managed at least 750 games—and 28–17 (.622) in the postseason with those two World Series championships.
