□□ Another very good read on .. ▪︎ Tito Francona upcoming retirement ▪︎ from SI 9/23/23 ▪︎

[mjp28]

❤️  Another  very good read on ..  ▪︎  Tito Francona upcoming retirement  ▪︎  from SI 9/23/23 ▪︎  Our great outgoing manager. 

 

    Sports Illustrated

Terry Francona Opens Up About Love For Baseball, Guardians News

    2 days ago — Terry Francona talks about his managing career and how much he loves the game of baseball.

▪︎  Terry Francona Opens Up About Love For Baseball, Guardians News  ▪︎

 

Terry Francona talks about his managing career and how much he loves the game of baseball.

 

TOMMY WILD  ▪︎SEP 23, 2023 4:39 PM EDT

Terry Francona has yet to make it official but it certainly appears that he will retire and move on from the game of baseball once the 2023 regular season comes to an end.

Ahead of Cleveland's matchup with the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday Tito was asked about what likes about managing. He admitted this question caught him off guard and he "wasn't ready" for it. He truly had to stop to think about how he wanted to answer it which is rare.

This evolved into something different but revealed why Francona has stuck around the game for so long:

"I don't think it's just managing, I love the game of baseball. Since I could crawl that's all I've really ever done ... I just like baseball. I don't ever think I felt like I had to be a manager. I mean, I like being a bench coach. I love being a third-base coach. I actually loved managing in the Minor Leagues. That's what I think is more important to me than being a manager."

Francona has been managing in baseball since 1997 and he switched to this role shortly after retiring from being a player. He spent four seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, moved on to the Boston Red Sox for eight seasons, and is currently in his 11 season in Cleveland.

That's a lot of different places to be and along with a lot of different connections have been made. Francona also went on to say that one of his favorite parts about the game of baseball is the people and relationships he's made along the way.

Aug 25, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona (77) waits in the dugout during the pre-game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports (picture)

© Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Francona said he wasn't exactly sure what he'll miss about the game once he reties but, "I guarantee I will miss the people."

All good things must come to an end and it appears Tito's time as a manager will come to an end sooner rather than later. There's no doubt that the fans, players, and everyone else will miss him when he's gone and will be there when he inevitably is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. 

▪︎~~~~~~~▪︎  ♥︎   ▪︎~~~~~~~▪︎   End of article.

 

[mjp28]

Your comments are welcome. 

[Dutch Oven]

Glad I got to see him one more time Saturday night, he's been a great face of the team for the last decade plus, hopefully he can remain with the Guardians in some capacity in the future. 

[mjp28]

5 hours ago, Dutch Oven said:

Glad I got to see him one more time Saturday night, he's been a great face of the team for the last decade plus, hopefully he can remain with the Guardians in some capacity in the future. 

I'm always on the lookout for any Tito Francona  -or-  any other interesting Guardians, AL Central  or any interesting MLB articles out there. 

And a nice cushy FO job for a soon to be first ballot Cooperstown inductee named Mr Francona oh yes I'd be all for that.   I think Cleveland would be a good choice for Tito to stay. 

I remember Tito's dad dad here as a player, had his and many, many other cards until they got thrown out ..... aaarrrrrgghhhh !  (every time I think about it)    I have told my wife several times that I could have bought her a nice Mercedes with those cards, 60s, 50s, 40s almost complete sets even with the check-off cards almost completely checked  (remember those check off cards ?)  And collectors cards going way back,  OMG.

A kid up the street from me gave me all of his cards before he left for Viet Nam about 1965.  Boxes and boxes of them with my growing collection.   Viet Nam kind of screwed him up bad in the head and body, he never really got over it.   Worked for years helping veterans.   Oh well.

*edit - I had to look this one up, Tito Sr. was with the Indians (1959-1964), I saw my first game at the Ol' Muni in 1959 and saw several with the Scouts in those years 1959-1964 and beyond.   I had to check it out, my earliest memories of that gigantic Ol' stadium  ...... it was colossal when you were 8, 9, 10 .... and beyond.       

Edited September 26, 2023 by mjp28
The Ol' Muni ..... WOW !

[syd]

On 9/25/2023 at 1:34 PM, mjp28 said:

Your comments are welcome. 

I listened to Pluto talk about him today,class act he is

[FairHooker11]

12 hours ago, syd said:

I listened to Pluto talk about him today,class act he is

Pluto the "everyman" journalist and stories are very likable, and Francona the " everyman" type manager are both treasures. Gonna miss that - his replacement will undoubtedly need thick skin and a batters mentality to perservere the scrutiny. Good luck to whoever that is ...