36 Facts About Terry Francona

1.

Terrence Jon Francona was born on April 22,1959, and nicknamed "Tito", is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,474
2.

Terry Francona won another World Series with Boston in 2007 and continued to manage the team until the end of the 2011 season.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,475
3.

In 2013, Terry Francona became Cleveland's manager and led them to an American League pennant in 2016.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,476
4.

Terry Francona led Cleveland to a 22-game win streak during the 2017 season, the second-longest in MLB history.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,477
5.

Terry Francona was born on April 22,1959, in Aberdeen, South Dakota, to Tito Terry Francona, who played outfield for several Major League clubs from 1956 to 1970, and Roberta Jackson.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,478
6.

Terry Francona grew up in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, where he got his start in baseball at New Brighton Area High School.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,479
7.

Terry Francona represented the United States at the 1979 Pan American Games and attended the University of Arizona, where he played college baseball for the Arizona Wildcats baseball team.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,480
8.

Terry Francona was drafted in the first round of the 1980 amateur draft by the Montreal Expos, using the 22nd overall selection.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,481
9.

Terry Francona 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 utilized that year because the season was conducted in two halves as the result of the strike.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,482
10.

Terry Francona developed a reputation as a contact hitter, with very few home runs, walks, or strikeouts.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,483
11.

Terry Francona went on to sign one-year contracts with the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, and Milwaukee Brewers.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,484
12.

Terry Francona became third-base coach for the Detroit Tigers in 1996, working under their new skipper, Buddy Bell, a former teammate of Terry Francona on the Reds.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,485
13.

Terry 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 and Oakland Athletics.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,486
14.

Red Sox hired Terry Francona to manage their club in 2004, after Grady Little's contract was not renewed following the Red Sox loss in the 2003 American League Championship Series.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,487
15.

Terry 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.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,488
16.

Terry Francona won his first seven playoff elimination games and first nine ALCS elimination games.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,489
17.

Terry 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.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,490
18.

On June 2,2009, Terry Francona recorded his 500th win as manager of the Red Sox, making him the third manager in club history to have 500 wins.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,491
19.

On May 6,2010, Terry Francona became the fourth person to manage 1,000 games for the Red Sox.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,492
20.

Terry Francona was hired as manager of the Cleveland Indians on October 6,2012, and officially introduced on October 8.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,493
21.

Alomar, who had spent the past three seasons as a coach in Cleveland, and Terry Francona were the only candidates interviewed for the Indians' opening.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,494
22.

On November 12,2013, Terry Francona was named as the American League Manager of the Year.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,495
23.

Terry Francona managed the Indians to the American League Central Division title in 2016.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,496
24.

Terry Francona's team swept his former club, the Boston Red Sox, in three games in the divisional series—clinching a berth in the ALCS with a win at Fenway Park on October 10,2016.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,497
25.

On November 15,2016, Terry Francona was named American League Manager of the Year for the second time in his career.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,498
26.

On July 29,2021, Terry Francona announced that he would step aside from the team for the rest of the year, citing health issues.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,499
27.

Terry Francona entered the 2022 season as the longest-tenured manager in MLB with the same team.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,500
28.

In 2022, Terry Francona led the Guardians to their first playoff appearance since 2020 and first AL Central title since 2018.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,501
29.

Terry Francona, who teamed with play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, filled in for regular Fox analyst Tim McCarver, who was recuperating from minor heart surgery.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,502
30.

On December 5,2011, Terry Francona signed with ESPN joining their Sunday Night Baseball telecast, replacing Bobby Valentine, who himself replaced Terry Francona as manager of the Red Sox.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,503
31.

Terry Francona married Jacque Lang on January 9,1982, and they have four children: son Nicholas, and daughters Alyssa, Leah, and Jamie.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,504
32.

Terry Francona was a lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,505
33.

Terry Francona later said that he and Lang were in the final stages of divorcing.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,506
34.

Terry Francona was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic to undergo a series of tests.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,507
35.

On July 7,2017, it was announced that Terry Francona underwent a catheter ablation to correct an irregular heartbeat.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,508
36.

Terry Francona missed most of the 2020 season and all of the postseason due to a blood clotting issue.

FactSnippet No. 1,722,509