Terry Francona got used to getting out of bed whenever he wanted during his year away from managing, and his biggest decision then was whether to have a second cup of coffee before doing the daily crossword puzzle.
While it was a bit of an adjustment when he had to start getting up again in the predawn hours to get to the Cincinnati Reds spring training complex, Francona was quickly back to where he prefers to be every day.
“My mind went right back into baseball, and it kind of feels good," Francona said soon after starting his first camp with the Reds, who hired him in October. "I enjoy, I love coming to the ballpark. There’s no place on this earth I’m more comfortable. ... This is my home and, like, grew up in this place.”
The three-time Manager of the Year and two-time World Series champion, who turns 66 in April, is rejuvenated and feeling better after what he knows was a much-needed break from the grind of professional baseball. The son of a major leaguer, he was a first-round draft pick in 1980.
When Francona stepped away at the end 2023 after 11 seasons managing Cleveland, he needed a shoulder replacement and double hernia surgery. He had missed extended time in 2020 and 2021 due to health complications.
“I had a good year, man. I needed to be away from the game. And when you say that, when you know it yourself, you’re probably, probably a little late. I really needed it,” he said. “Physically, I was so beat up that it starts to become, you know, mental, and you start, it wears on you, and you become short on patience and things like that. Those are not good attributes for a manager. So I think I’m situated where I can do the job the way you’re supposed to, the way I want to.”
Cincinnati, going into its 30th season since last winning a playoff series, turned to the manager with 1,950 wins over 23 seasons with Philadelphia (1997-2000), Boston (2004-11) and Cleveland (2013-23). Bruce Bochy, who came out of a three-year retirement and immediately led Texas to its only World Series title in 2023, is the only active manager with more wins at 2,171.
Boston ended an 86-year championship drought by winning the 2004 World Series in Francona's first season, and added another title three years later. Cleveland was coming off a 94-loss season when Francona took over and ended his debut there in the playoffs in 2013, the first of six postseason appearances that included the AL pennant in 2016 before the Game 7 loss to the Chicago Cubs in the World Series.
Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash played three seasons in Boston for Francona, and his first coaching job was as Francona's bullpen coach those first two seasons in Cleveland. Cash is glad and certainly not surprised that Francona is back in the dugout.
“Very similar to kind of how I felt or I think how a lot of us felt with Bochy coming back. Baseball is better with both of them in it," Cash said. “I’m glad he decided, I’m glad he’s healthy. ... I did not see it coming that quick. I thought for sure he’d be back because I don’t know what the hell else he would do.”
Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, an outfielder for him with the Red Sox in 2009, described Francona as having a magical personality and being a spark for whoever he is managing.
“He has something that most people don’t have, maybe no one else has. It’s a very, very unique thing to him that it puts people in a great head space when they show up to the ballpark and the clubhouse every day," Baldelli said. “He forms really, really, really nice relationships with all the people around him. He makes you feel special. He makes you feel like you can do things. He makes you feel like you’re a better player than you actually maybe even are sometimes."
The manager known as Tito, which was his father's name, was an outfielder for the Reds in 1987 when Pete Rose was their manager. Francona agreed to a three-year contract through the 2027 season with a club option for 2028 to return to the organization to replace fired manager David Bell. Cincinnati has been to the playoffs only once since 2013, during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Now back in the daily routine of baseball, right by the spring training home of the Guardians and near the stadium they share in Arizona, Francona was asked if he had any second thoughts. He responded by relaying his message to Nick Krall, the Reds president of baseball operations, and general manager Brad Meador when they were talking about the job last fall.
“I said if I come, I’m all in. That’s the only way I know how to do it,” Francona said. “When the season’s over, I’ll turn my motor off and collapse. But until then, let's go.”
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AP freelancer Gary Schatz contributed to this story from Goodyear, Ariz.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press
