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When Terry Francona stepped down as the Cleveland Guardians' manager in October 2023 after numerous health issues plagued his final few seasons, some thought Francona was done for good as an MLB manager. But just one year and one day later, he became the Cincinnati Reds' manager.
Francona turns 66 today and, at least on paper, is set to manage the Reds for the next three seasons. But if it were up to ‘Tito,' he would likely manage in MLB forever despite it taking a toll on his health.
“The 162-game schedule is the team sport’s version of a marathon, with the distance being both the challenge and the appeal,” Zack Meisel and C. Trent Rosecrans wrote for The Athletic. “The grind is what forced Francona away, but also what pulled him back. Those who know him best didn’t see it coming, but they couldn’t imagine him anywhere else.
“‘Some of us, like myself, probably love it too much,' Francona says. ‘I mean, it’s just … I don’t know how to change it. I just love it.'”
Francona managed only a part of both the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to numerous health reasons before confirming his departure from Cleveland following the 2023 season.
He has been a manager for four teams in his career — the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Guardians, and Reds — and has been considered among MLB's best managers for the better part of a quarter of a century. He has earned AL Manager of the Year honors thrice, and in 2004 and 2007, led the Red Sox to World Series titles.
Unless Francona's health prevents it or the Reds collapse this season and become one of the worst teams in history, Francona will become the 13th manager to ever reach 2,000 wins later this year. He is just 39 wins away from the feat and 48 wins from passing Leo Durocher for 12th on the all-time wins list.
In his career, Francona has led his teams to the postseason 11 times — five times with the Red Sox and six times in Cleveland — and reached the World Series three times. The Reds certainly hope that Francona can bring that kind of success back to Cincinnati, which has only made the playoffs once in the last decade and has not reached the NLCS since 1995. It has been 35 years since the Reds last won a World Series.
