Terry Francona
| Terry Francona | |
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| Cleveland Indians - No. 17 | |
| First baseman / outfielder / manager | |
| Born: April 22nd, 1959 in Aberdeen , United States 
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| Strikes: Left | Throws: Left |
| Debut in Major League Baseball | |
| August 19, 1981 at the Montreal Expos | |
| Last MLB assignment | |
| April 19, 1990 only at Milwaukee Brewers | |
| MLB statistics (until end of career) |
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| Batting average | , 274 |
| Hits | 474 |
| Runs batted in | 143 |
| Games managed | 2,166 |
| Win-loss record | 1.151-1.015 |
| Winning% | , 531 |
| Teams | |
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As a player
As a trainer
As a manager
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| Awards | |
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Terry Jon "Tito" Francona (born April 22, 1959 in Aberdeen , South Dakota ) is an American baseball manager in Major League Baseball . Francona is currently the manager of the Cleveland Indians . Previously, he was manager of the Boston Red Sox for seven years , with which he won the World Series twice (2004, 2007).
Career as a player
youth
Francona grew up near Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania and began playing baseball at New Brighton High School. He is the son of Tito Francona , who played in the MLB from 1956 to 1970.
In 1980 Francona won the Golden Spikes Award . That same year he was drafted 22nd by the Montreal Expos in the first round.
He then played successfully in the minor league and made his MLB debut on August 19, 1981 with the Montreal Expos . He played there mainly as an outfielder. He won the 1981 National League Division Series with the Expos against the Philadelphia Phillies at 32.
First base
Over the years Francona moved to first base and played one hundred more games as an outfielder. He became known as a “contact hitter” with very few strikeouts , walks but also few home runs .
End of career
The Expos fired Francona in the 1985 season, when his batting average dropped to .267 (compared to .346 in 1984). He then signed one-year contracts with the Chicago Cubs , Cincinnati Reds , Cleveland Indians and the Milwaukee Brewers . The Brewers renewed his contract in 1990, but Francona only made three games, his last on April 19.
He played a total of 708 games with a batting average of .274, 16 home runs and 143 RBIs .
Career as a trainer and manager
Coach in the minor league
Francona began as a coach in the minor league with the Chicago White Sox . In 1991 he coached the Sarasota White Sox in the Gulf Coast League . In 1992 he coached the South Bend White Sox in the Midwest League . As manager of the AA Birmingham Barons from 1993 to 1995, he scored 223-203 victories and won two awards: Southern League Manager of the Year 1993 and Baseball America's Minor League Manager of the Year . Birmingham won the Southern League championship in 1993.
He also managed in the Dominican Winter League with the Las Aguilas Cibaenas and won the championship with them. Well-known players like Miguel Tejada , Manny Ramirez and Tony Batista played in the team today .
Major League coach
In 1996 Francona became third-base coach with the Detroit Tigers . After the season he became a manager at the Philadelphia Phillies . Under Francona, the Phillies never achieved a better place than third in the National League East from 1997 to 2000 . Francona's best placement he achieved in 1999 with 77-85 wins. In 1998 and 1999, the Phillies finished third behind the Atlanta Braves and their rival, the New York Mets .
He was fired in 2000 and assisted the general manager of the Cleveland Indians the following season . He then signed one-year contracts with the Texas Rangers (2002) and the Oakland Athletics (2003).
Red Sox Manager
After the Red Sox lost the American League Championship Series against the Yankees in 2003 , Francona was appointed their manager in 2004.
He led the team to a 98-64 record, the second best result in the American League behind the Yankees.
At the end of the 2004 season, the Red Sox were three games behind the Yankees in the American League East, but were still able to secure participation in the playoffs through the American League wild card . In the first round they beat the Anaheim Angels there in three games. This was followed by another meeting with the New York Yankees. The Red Sox lost the first three games of the series and were 4: 3 back in the 9th inning in Game 4. The Red Sox achieved something that was usually reserved for their opponents: They drew tied and won with the help of a 2-run -Homeruns from David Ortiz in the 12th inning 6: 4. The following evening they caught up again and won in the 14th inning 5: 4. Curt Schilling won the sixth game for the Red Sox. He had injured his ankle against Anaheim and was playing in severe pain; since he had only undergone a makeshift operation, his ankle began to bleed and his stocking turned red. The Red Sox won the decisive game 7 10: 3 and moved into the World Series. It was the first time in the history of Major League Baseball that a team had caught up three games behind and - along with the four subsequent World Series games - won eight games in a row. This comeback was quickly hailed as the best of its kind in the history of professionally organized sport in the United States.
During the 2005 season, Francona was admitted to hospital with chest pain. It turned out that he did not have a heart attack, but he had badly clogged arteries. This incident, as well as a life-threatening pulmonary embolism in 2002 and ongoing treatments for thrombosis led to constant circulatory problems. He even had to wear special clothes because of it. His jersey is also always hidden under a sweater.
In 2007, however, the Red Sox won the World Series with a 4-0 win against the Colorado Rockies , after they had previously beaten the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3-0 and the Cleveland Indians 4-3 .
Francona has the highest win rate among all the managers who participated in at least 20 games in the post-season. He is also the first manager in MLB history to win the first eight consecutive World Series games.
On February 24, 2008, the Red Sox announced that Francona's contract would be extended to 2011. The club also has an option for 2012 and 2013. This contract brings Francona 12 million US dollars, with the optional extension even 20 million.
On June 2, 2009, Francona recorded its 500th victory as a Red Sox manager. He is only the third manager in the club's history with 500 wins (after Joe Cronin and Mike Higgins).
After the Red Sox missed the playoffs for the second time in a row, Francona ended his activity there on September 30, 2011. Terry Francona took a year off before joining the Cleveland Indians as a manager for the 2013 season.
Private life
Francona has been married to Jacque Lang since January 9, 1982. The couple have four children, son Nicholas and daughters Alyssa, Leah and Jamie. The family currently resides in Brookline , Massachusetts . Nicholas Francona played college basketball for the University of Pennsylvania and for a time in the Cape Cod Baseball League . He is currently a lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps . His daughters Alyssa and Leah played softball at the University of North Carolina .
Statistics as a manager
| team | year | season | Playoffs | ||||||
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| won | lost | won% | placement | won | lost | won% | Result | ||
| PHI | 1997 | 68 | 94 | .420 | 5th in NL East | - | - | - | |
| PHI | 1998 | 75 | 87 | .463 | 3rd in NL East | - | - | - | - |
| PHI | 1999 | 77 | 85 | .475 | 3rd in NL East | - | - | - | - |
| PHI | 2000 | 65 | 97 | .401 | 5th in NL East | - | - | - | - |
| PHI total | 285 | 363 | .440 | - | - | - | |||
| BOS | 2004 | 98 | 64 | .605 | 2nd in AL East | 11 | 3 | .786 | 2004 World Series winner |
| BOS | 2005 | 95 | 67 | .586 | 2nd in AL East | 0 | 3 | .000 | Losing to the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 ALDS |
| BOS | 2006 | 86 | 76 | .531 | 3rd in AL East | - | - | - | - |
| BOS | 2007 | 96 | 66 | .593 | 1st in AL East | 11 | 3 | .786 | World Series 2007 Champion |
| BOS | 2008 | 95 | 67 | .586 | 2nd in AL East | 6th | 5 | .545 | Loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 ALDS |
| BOS | 2009 | 95 | 67 | .586 | 2nd in AL East | 0 | 3 | .000 | Defeat against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS 2009 |
| BOS | 2010 | 89 | 73 | .549 | 3rd in AL East | - | - | - | - |
| BOS total | 654 | 480 | .577 | 28 | 17th | . 542 | twice AL Champion and two World Series victories | ||
| total | 939 | 843 | .527 | 28 | 17th | . 542 | |||
Web links
- Player information and statistics from MLB or Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or The Baseball Cube or Baseball Reference (Minor League) (English)
- Data as a manager (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Tito Francona. baseball-reference.com, accessed March 3, 2011 .
- ↑ Steve Wulf: Terry Francona. In: ESPN the Magazine. ESPN.com, accessed March 4, 2011 .
- ↑ Jerry Crasnick: MLB Acknowledges In-Hame Uniform Check Timed Poorly. In: ESPN the Magazine. ESPN.com, August 31, 2007, accessed March 4, 2011 .
- ↑ The Joy of Sox. Francona: Greatest Post-season Manager? October 30, 2007, accessed March 4, 2011 .
- ^ Ian Browne: Red Sox extend Francona's contract. In: redsox.com. MLB.com, accessed March 4, 2011 .
- ^ Gordon Edes: Updated info on Tito's deal. In: Boston Globe. boston.com, February 24, 2008, accessed March 4, 2011 .
- ^ Boston Red Sox Managers. baseball-reference.com, accessed March 4, 2011 .
- ^ Terry Francona biography. Boston.com, accessed March 4, 2011 .
- ^ Nick Francona biography. (No longer available online.) Pennathletics.com, archived from the original on July 19, 2011 ; accessed on March 4, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Francona to miss Friday game for son's marine graduation. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 3, 2009 ; accessed on March 4, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Alyssa Francona. CSTV.com, accessed March 4, 2011 .
- ↑ Leah Francona. CSTV.com, accessed March 4, 2011 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Francona, Terry |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Francona, Terry Jon (full name); Tito (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American baseball manager |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 22, 1959 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Aberdeen , South Dakota , USA |