Terry Francona

From SoSH

Terry Francona is the current manager of the Boston Red Sox. He was born on April 22, 1959, in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and was drafted 22nd overall in the 1980 Amateur Draft by the Montreal Expos after playing his collegiate baseball at the University of Arizona. Francona currently resides in Brookline, Massachusetts

Terry played for 10 years (1981-1990) in the major leagues with Montreal, Chicago (NL), Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Milwaukee. During his career, he played at first base and in the outfield. Terry was a career .274 hitter, but was plagued by knee problems throughout his career, which limited his effectiveness.

Terry's dad, John "Tito" Francona, also played in the majors, and Terry is known around the league by the same nickname, "Tito." Married to Jacque Francona

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Moment in the Sun 3 Managerial Achievements 4 Trivia 5 Transactions 6 External Links

Overall Career

After Terry's playing days were over, he began his managerial career in the White Sox organization with their Class A team, the South Bend White Sox. The next year, Terry was promoted to the Double AA Birmingham Barons, and was named Baseball America's Manager of the Year after leading the Barons to the 1993 Southern League title. In 1994, Terry managed Michael Jordan when he played with the Barons.

Following the 1995 season, Terry left the minor leagues and was named third base coach of the Detroit Tigers under manager Buddy Bell. The next year, Terry was named manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, and was manager there for four years, compiling a 285-363 record with the club. The Phillies never finished higher than 3rd in the NL East.

After his stint with the Phillies, Terry joined the front office of the Cleveland Indians in 2001, and then was bench coach in Texas and Oakland the next two years. Following the 2003 season, he was named manager of the Red Sox, replacing Grady Little.

In his first year with the Red Sox, he skippered the ballclub to a 98-64 record, and the AL Wild Card. In the playoffs, Francona was even better, as he out-dueled Mike Scioscia, Joe Torre, and Tony LaRussa in leading the Sox to the World Series title.

In 2005, Terry led the team to a 95-67 record and another AL Wild Card, despite an assortment of injuries to the team. Terry also had a health scare of his own as he was hospitalized before an April game with the Yankees after suffering chest pains. Terry was given a clean bill of health, and returned to the club shortly there-after. Terry also managed the 2005 American League All-Star team to a 7-5 win.

Moment in the Sun

• While most would say being the first Red Sox Manager in 86 years to win a World Series. Terry would say his biggest moment in the sun was finding a bag of dog shit left by former player, Kevin Millar.

Managerial Achievements

• Post-season appearances: 3 (2004, 2005 Wild Card, 2007)
• AL Pennants: 2 (2004, 2007)
• Managed two World Series Champions with the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and 2007.
• Became the first manager in MLB history to win his first 8 World Series games.

Trivia

• Won the Golden Spikes Award and the College World Series MVP for the NCAA Champion Arizona Wildcats in 1980.
• 6 degrees of separation from Dickie Thon: Thon dipped with Juan Samuel, who dipped with Von Hayes, who dipped with Lenny Dykstra, who dipped with John Kruk, who dipped with Darren Daulton, who dipped with Terry Francona.

Transactions

• June 7, 1977: Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2nd round of the 1977 amateur draft, but did not sign.
• June 3, 1980: Drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 1st round (22nd pick) of the 1980 amateur draft.
• April 1, 1986: Released by the Montreal Expos.
• May 2, 1986: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.
• October 18, 1986: Granted Free Agency.
• March 23, 1987: Signed as a Free Agent with the Cincinnati Reds.
• November 2, 1987: Granted Free Agency.
• February 28, 1988: Signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians.
• November 4, 1988: Granted Free Agency.
• March 30, 1989: Signed as a Free Agent with the Milwaukee Brewers.
• November 13, 1989: Granted Free Agency.
• December 12, 1989: Signed as a Free Agent with the Milwaukee Brewers.
• April 27, 1990: Released by the Milwaukee Brewers.
• May 5, 1990: Signed as a Free Agent with the St. Louis Cardinals.

External Links

• TheBaseballCube.com - Career Statistics and Analysis
• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Managerial Record
• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis