Terry Francona

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Terry Jon "Tito" Francona (born April 22, 1959, in Aberdeen, South Dakota) is a Major League Baseball manager. As of 2007, he manages the Boston Red Sox in the American League.

[edit] Youth

Francona grew up outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and got his start in baseball at New Brighton, Pennsylvania High School, where he excelled under the coaching of Greg "Faz" Fazio. His father is Tito Francona, who played in the majors from 1956 to 1970, and went to a neighboring high school near Pittsburgh.

[edit] Early career

Francona was drafted out of the University of Arizona in the first round of the 1980 amateur draft by the Montreal Expos, using the 22nd overall selection. That season he won the College World Series and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The left-hander wasted no time rising through the minor leagues, first appearing in a Montreal uniform August 19, 1981, a week after the end of that summer's player strike. He 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. The Expos won that series, three games to two.

[edit] First base

As the seasons went on, Francona shifted to first base, where he ultimately played one hundred games more than he had in the outfield. He also developed a reputation as a contact hitter, with very few home runs, walks, or strikeouts.

[edit] Journeyman years

The Expos released Francona after the 1985 season, during which his batting average had slipped to .267 after posting a .346 average in limited action in 1984. He went on to sign one-year contracts with the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, and Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers re-signed Francona for 1990, but he only played in three games for the Brewers that year, the last on April 19. In ten seasons and 708 games, he posted a .274 career average, with 16 homers and 143 RBI.

[edit] Minor League coaching career

Francona then entered coaching, spending several years in the Chicago White Sox organization. In 1991, he managed the rookie league Sarasota White Sox of the Gulf Coast League. In 1992, he ran the South Bend White Sox of the mid-level Class A Midwest League. As manager of the AA franchise Birmingham Barons from 1993-1995, he posted a 223-203 record and won two distinctions: Southern League Manager of the Year in 1993, Baseball America's Minor League Manager of the Year in 1993, and top managerial candidate by Baseball America in 1994, the same year Michael Jordan played for Birmingham. Birmingham won the Southern League championship in 1993.

[edit] Major League coaching career

Francona became third-base coach for the Detroit Tigers in 1996, working under their new skipper, Buddy Bell, a former teammate of Francona on the Reds. After the season ended, he was hired as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, who had won the NL pennant in 1993 but then experienced three consecutive losing seasons. In Francona's four seasons (1997 through 2000) as the Phils' skipper, the club never rose above third place in the National League East Division. His best finish with the Phillies was 77-85 in 1999. He was fired following the 2000 campaign, and spent the following season as a special assistant to the general manager with the Cleveland Indians (2001), which was followed by two one-year terms as a bench coach for the Texas Rangers (2002) and Oakland Athletics (2003).

[edit] Red Sox manager

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

Francona led the Red Sox to a 98-64 record in 2004, the second-best record in the American League behind the division-rival Yankees. Under Francona's leadership, the club gelled in the second half and was the hottest team in baseball after the All-Star break.

As the American League wild card, the Red Sox dispatched the AL West champion Anaheim Angels, three games to none, in the Division Series. In the 2004 American League Championship Series, the Red Sox fell behind the Yankees, three games to none, including a 19-8 loss in Game 3 at Fenway Park, the Sox's home park. However, under Francona's guidance, the club regained its composure and won the last four games of the series, the first time in Major League history that a team rallied from an 0-3 deficit to win a playoff series (and only the third team to even make it as far as Game 6). Francona's management of his bullpen staff in the four victories was generally regarded as outstanding. The Red Sox then swept the St. Louis Cardinals, four games to none, in the 2004 World Series.

As of May 14, 2007, Francona's career regular-season managerial record is 590-581 (.504).

[edit] Personal

Terry and wife Jackie have four children: son Nicholas, and daughters Alyssa, Leah, and Jamie. They now live in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The oldest of the four, Nick, currently attends and plays baseball for the University of Pennsylvania.

[edit] External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - career playing statistics
• Baseball-Reference.com - career managerial record
• Francona's tenure in Birmingham