Terry Francona

Terrence Jon Francona, colloquially Terry, has seen baseball from just about all of its vantage points. From that of a highly touted first-round pick. As the last man to make a 25-man roster. And then during a lengthy but mostly successful managerial career, including two championships in Boston. It has not come easy for Tito, the nickname he inherited from his former major-league All-Star father, but his managerial accolades over the years have shown that he’s learned a thing or two in a lifetime of professional baseball.

Born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, on April 22, 1959, to John Patsy “Tito” and Roberta “Birdie” Francona, the family relocated to Tito’s hometown of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, where Terry’s younger sister was born two years later. When Terry was born, Tito Francona was a 25-year-old utilityman and pinch-hitter traded twice in the past calendar year, looking for a role to settle into in the bigs. Later that year he found that role in Cleveland, playing center field and first base, hitting .363 in 122 games (missing the plate appearance per game qualifier for the American League by 34 plate appearances) and finishing fifth in the MVP voting.

Young Terry ended up spending the better part of his tweens in the clubhouses of the Cardinals, Phillies, Braves, Athletics, and Brewers, seeing the inner workings and learning the weight of responsibility that players, coaches, managers, and executive can carry on their shoulders.

When he wasn’t on the road with his father, Terry was home in New Brighton, playing baseball. As a sophomore at New Brighton High School, he hit .545 in 1975 and a whopping .769 in his junior season. He also played golf in the fall and basketball in the winter.

In his 1977 senior season, Francona separated his shoulder and accumulated only 10 at-bats (although he got hits in seven of them). But he had presented enough of a body of work to attract the interest of scouts. In a stacked 1977 draft, Francona was picked in the second round (38th overall) by the Chicago Cubs. Jim Brock, head coach of the powerhouse Arizona State University, was also on the line.1

Terry got what he felt was a disappointing offer of $18,000 (the Cubs were willing to go up $1,000),2 and Francona had shined in high school and never had once received a call from Brock until after the draft. He declined both offers and made the decision to play at the University of Arizona in the fall of 1977.3

It was at Arizona that Francona met Brad Mills, the Wildcats’ third baseman, who would become Francona’s eventual baseball consigliere. In 1979 both were named all-stars in the Southern Division of the PAC 10, as Francona batted .378 and led the team in RBIs (81 in 67 games), getting a conference all-star nod, and being voted team MVP by his teammates.

In 1980 Francona won the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the best amateur baseball player in the nation, after leading Arizona to a top ranking and second straight College World Series appearance. Francona was named Most Outstanding Player after Arizona won the tournament, and following the CWS, coach Jerry Kindall – who’d played with Terry’s father with the Indians – told Francona, “Time for you to move on,”4 and on June 3, 1980, he was picked 22nd overall by the Montreal Expos, the lone first-round pick of the seven Wildcats drafted.

The Montreal Expos, coming off their first season over .500 and finishing two games out of the NL East crown in 1979, entered the 1980s full of promise, with a roster that included future Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Andre Dawson, with pitcher Tim Wallach, who had won the Golden Spikes and was the Expos’ first-round pick the year before Francona did both, in Triple A.

Francona began his minor-league career in Memphis (Double-A Southern League) the same day he signed his contract, June 16, hitting .300 in 60 games for the Chicks. After postseason correspondence with John McHale and Class-A manager Bob Bailey, Francona spent the winter in the Florida Instructional League.

After 41 games with Memphis in 1981, he was promoted to Triple-A Denver. He didn’t stay there long, though, being sent to join the Expos in Houston on August 19, potentially facing Astros gunslinger Nolan Ryan in his major-league debut.

Francona didn’t arrive at the Astrodome until the fourth inning. Ryan, the day’s starter, was about to go through Montreal’s lineup for the second time, accruing six strikeouts and no hits. By the time Francona got into the clubhouse to drop his baggage and change into his uniform, reliever Dave Smith was in for Ryan, who lost his no-hit bid in the top of the sixth with a Bobby Ramos base hit. No sooner had Francona stepped into the dugout than Expos manager Dick Williams called him to lead off the eighth inning as a pinch-hitter for Elias Sosa. He grounded out to first baseman César Cedeño, who took it unassisted.5

Francona got his first big-league hit on August 22 in the second game of a doubleheader, a pinch-hit single off Braves starter John Montefusco. Francona was used by Williams mostly as a pinch-hitter, but after Williams was fired on September 8 and Tim Raines was injured in a September 13 game against the Cubs, Francona got an opportunity, and started in left field in 18 of the Expos’ last 19 games. In that span, the Expos went 13-6, clinching a playoff spot and winning the NL East championship in the second half of the strike-interrupted season.6 They faced the first-half leaders, the Philadelphia Phillies, in the first playoff series outside the United States.

Francona played in all five games of the Division Series against the Phillies, starting three, as the Expos won their only playoff series in Montreal. But he had only one at-bat in the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had a largely left-handed pitching staff. Manager Jim Fanning employed switch-hitting Jerry White in all five games. White hit .313, second on the team for the series, but the Expos lost in five games to the eventual World Series champions.

In the 1981-82 offseason, Francona had surgery on a disc in his neck, and he began the 1982 season a backup in the outfield and at first base, batting .286 in spot starts and pinch-hit appearances.7 But Tim Raines made the move from left field to second base, and on May 17, 1982, Francona became an everyday starter for Montreal, manning left field.

For the next month, Francona, mostly hitting behind Raines, raised his batting average to .321.  On June 16, playing the St. Louis Cardinals, he showed situational awareness in the second inning with a two-out bases-loaded bunt, and was later driven in by a bases-clearing double by Andre Dawson. But in the seventh inning, protecting the lead he established, while fielding a Julio González fly ball, Francona crashed into the center-field wall of Busch Memorial Stadium, tearing his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus.

Francona was placed on the disabled list and underwent his first (of many to come) knee surgery. Two days later, the Expos announced that Francona would be out the rest of the season. He spent his time traveling with the team rehabbing with team trainer Ron McClain, only leaving in early September for the funeral of his grandfather.

After the 1982 season Francona traveled to West Germany with manager Fanning and Expos announcer Dave Van Horne to Canadian Armed Forces bases to conduct baseball clinics.8 In 1983 spring training, new manager Bill Virdon, not wanting to rush his rehabilitation, kept him out of the first 10 exhibition games “for his own good.”

The cautionary path paid off for Francona, who received a $5,000 bonus for not going on the DL before the All-Star break, but the Expos finished 82-80, eight games back of the first-place Phillies. Francona, coming off the bench in defensive situations and pinch-hitting most of the season, finished the year with a .257 batting average.

After winning MVP of the Caribbean Series (Winter League) and improving his swing in 1984 spring training, Francona began the season starting at first base and was hitting .367 in the first two months of the season. But on June 14, in the third inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, while avoiding a tag by Pittsburgh pitcher John Tudor on a groundball up the line, Francona tore a ligament in his left knee, and was carried off the field on a stretcher. Two days later, on the second anniversary of his right-knee injury, he underwent surgery to repair the torn ligament and remove cartilage. His season was over thereafter. Montreal finished 78-83, firing Virdon at the end of August; Fanning finished the season as manager.

Francona came back in 1985 with his left knee almost as strong as his right, but was reduced to a bench role after the Expos signed power hitter Dan Driessen. Francona wasn’t playing every day, and a potential trade partner was hard to find. The situation frustrated Francona, who voiced displeasure with it, saying, “It’s like I told my father, this year has been a real character builder. But I’ve got enough character to play.”9

After Driessen was traded in July, Francona began playing more. He was told by the Expos not to play winter ball, and had arthroscopic knee surgery after slipping in his garage in February. He made it to spring training but was released on April 1, 1986. Two days later he signed a minor-league deal with the Chicago Cubs, reporting to their Triple-A affiliate Iowa.10 He was called up to Chicago on May 2, and was mainly used as a backup. In November the Cubs optioned him back to Iowa.

In early 1987 the Cincinnati Reds invited free agent Francona to spring training, where he  battled Nick Esasky and Dave Concepción for the first-base position. He signed a one-year deal after landing the starting role. A free agent in 1988, Francona signed a minor-league contract with Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate Colorado Springs Sky Sox. He hit .432 in spring training but was sent back to Colorado Springs.11

Riding a .323 batting average and a 20-game hitting streak in Triple A at the Fourth of July, Francona was called up to Cleveland as a reserve at first base and left field, later getting more starts at DH. He finished with a .311 average in 62 games, hitting .310 in 47 starts. A free agent once more, he was invited to Brewers spring training in February 1989 and, after batting .310, earned a roster spot.

Platooning at first with Greg Brock and Dave Engle, Francona batted .232 in 89 games, including his first and only major-league pitching appearance, on May 15. (He recorded the only strikeout by the Brewers in a 12-2 loss to that year’s eventual World Series champs, the Oakland A’s, striking out center fielder Stan Javier looking on a knuckleball.)

Francona signed a contract with the Brewers in December 1989 and made the roster for the 1990 season. He subbed in three games before being placed on waivers at the end of April to make room for Paul Molitor coming off the disabled list.

Signing a minor-league contract in May 1990 with the Cardinals affiliate Louisville Redbirds, he hit .263 in 86 games. He signed another minor-league contract for 1991, but the Cardinals released him before the start of the season. Francona’s playing career, once promising from the onset, marred by injuries, ended with a .274 batting average in 707 games in a 10-year career.

Francona stayed in baseball, signing on as a hitting instructor for the Chicago White Sox’ rookie-level Gulf Coast League team. He spent the rest of 1991 teaching young draftees the ins and outs of major-league pitching. He was named the manager of the White Sox’ affiliate in South Bend (Class-A Midwest League) for 1992. Francona went 73-64 in his first year managing, and was promoted to manage the Double-A Birmingham Barons for the ’93 season. The White Sox thrust Francona and the Barons into the national spotlight when Michael Jordan made his move from basketball to baseball.

Jordan worked hard to transfer his athleticism from a basketball mindset to a baseball mindset, and it paid off at the end of the year with the White Sox petitioning Jordan to play in the Arizona Fall League. Jordan himself admitted in October of ’94 that he couldn’t have done that without Francona.12

But Jordan soon returned to basketball,13 and the Barons went 80-64 in 1995, earning Francona an opportunity to join Detroit manager Buddy Bell’s staff at the third-base coach. It was a bleak year in Detroit, but Francona seemed to escape real blame.

Francona was identified as a possible candidate to replace Pirates manager Jim Leyland, but on October 31, 1996, he was named the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, who were coming off three consecutive losing seasons, losing 95 games in 1996.
Francona did everything he could to tinker with a consistently losing roster, but the Phillies lost 15 of 17 heading into July, and at the All-Star break 1997, they held the worst record in the majors at 24-61, 30 games behind their nearest competitor. After that they played above .500 ball and finished the season 67-95.

Francona used his young stars Scott Rolen and Bobby Abreu and ace Curt Schilling to improve the Phillies to 75-87 in 1998. The next season they were 61-48 on August 6, but injuries to Rolen and Schilling took a toll, and the Phillies finished the season 77-85.

Things went worse in 2000. Schilling was still recovering from shoulder surgery that prematurely ended his ’99 season and didn’t return until late April. He and the Phillies struggled early. Schilling was dealt to Arizona on July 26, with the Phillies at 44-55. They went 21-42 afterward and on October 1 Francona was fired. The team finished the year 65-97, and Francona’s four-season tenure in Philadelphia resulted in a 285-363 record.

Two days after being fired, Francona was mentioned again as the potential Pirates manager, this time succeeding Gene Lamont. Instead, on November 22 he was named a special assistant for baseball operations for the Cleveland Indians, under GM John Hart and assistant GM Mark Shapiro. It was a learning experience for Francona and would lead to the formation of important relationships in his managing career.14

Francona was not in a front office for long. On November 14, 2001, he was hired as bench coach for Texas Rangers manager Jerry Narron (but not before managing the US National Team to a Silver Medal in the 2001 Baseball World Cup). Narron was fired after the 2002 season, and Francona was on the shortlist to replace him. He was also considered in Seattle and for the New York Mets.

In October Francona had surgery to relieve staph infections in both knees, which had led to pulmonary embolisms in each lung. Buck Showalter was hired in Texas on October 11; Francona was not retained. A month later Francona joined the Oakland A’s staff as bench coach. Former Montreal teammate Ken Macha was replacing Art Howe, who took the New York Mets job.

Francona recovered from his surgeries as the 2003 season went on, and he was Macha’s right-hand man as they led Oakland to an AL West title, going 96-66. Francona was in the dugout for the playoffs for the first time since 1981, going up against the wild-card Boston Red Sox, led by manager Grady Little, in the Division Series.

The A’s went up 2-0 against Boston, but then lost three straight to end their season. The Red Sox, in turn, fell to the New York Yankees in seven games in the ALCS. The series is best remembered for its 12-inning Game Seven, which went to extra innings after an exhausted Pedro Martinez gave up three runs in the eighth inning. Aaron Boone’s home run in the 12th inning won the game, and Little’s decision to leave Martinez in the game was widely criticized. He was fired two days after the World Series ended.

Francona, coming off interviews with the White Sox and division opponent Orioles, became a candidate for Little’s job. The meeting between Francona and Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and assistant GM Josh Byrnes lasted six hours and left both parties with a good impression. On December 4 Francona was introduced as the 44th manager of the Red Sox.15 He was seen as the man who could meld a statistical and traditionalist approach to managing, in contrast to Little’s old-school intuitive style that won them that many games but not their biggest one of the season.

Neck and neck with the Yankees for the first two months of the 2004 season, Boston was seven games back at the All-Star break. At the trade deadline, the Red Sox acquired first baseman Doug Mientkiwicz and shortstop Orlando Cabrera while trading franchise cornerstone Nomar Garciaparra.

With the addition of utility outfielder Dave Roberts in a separate trade, Francona had all of his tools nearly finalized for a playoff run. The Red Sox finished three games behind the Yankees, earning a wild-card berth. They beat the Angels in the ALDS, and once again, the Yankees loomed in the ALCS.

The Yankees were poised for a sweep after winning the first three games, but Francona kept the ship tight, and admitted, “It starts looking a little daunting if you start looking at too big of a picture.”16 A comeback win in Game Four to stave off elimination lit a fire.17

Winning the next three games was a lot more daunting – not to mention unprecedented – and the fact that they were all decided by two runs or less was a testament to how well Francona knew his team and the right time to pull the proper strings. The 10-3 win in Game Seven gave the Red Sox all the momentum they needed going into the World Series.

“It’s just not time to have the final celebration,” Francona would say between series, “We’re excited to be doing what we’re doing, but we’re not done yet.”18

The Red Sox faced the Cardinals, beating them 11-9 in Game One on the way to a decisive sweep. Francona had helped do the impossible and ended the 86-year championship drought in Boston baseball.

The next season the Red Sox won 95 games, but lost in the ALDS to the eventual World Series champion Chicago White Sox, themselves ending a lengthy World Series drought. The Red Sox won 86 games in 2006, finishing third in the division and missing the playoffs. But the 2007 Red Sox came back swinging, winning 96 games and tying with Cleveland for the best record in baseball. This team was almost completely remade from 2004.

After a 3-0 ALDS sweep of the California Angels, the Red Sox faced the Indians in the 2007 ALCS. Once again the team overcame a three-games-to-one deficit to win the series. Francona seemed to do fantastic work with his back against the wall. The Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies. After going 86 years between World Series wins, the team had won two in four years.

On February 28, 2008, Francona was given a three-year contract extension, with club options for 2014 and 2015. “The ballclub showed a lot of trust in me, which I don’t take lightly,” he said.19

In 2008, a 95-win season got the Red Sox a wild-card berth behind the 97-win Tampa Bay Rays. After dispatching the Angels in the ALDS, the Red Sox were once again down three games to one in the ALCS to the Rays. Boston forced a seventh game, but there was no comeback this time, as they lost the game.

The Red Sox advanced to the playoffs in 2009, losing in the ALDS to the Angels, and in 2011 were 83-52 heading into September. But that month they went 7-20, falling from first to third place. After losing out on a playoff spot on the final day of the season, the club announced that Francona’s last two contract years wouldn’t be picked up. His 744 victories as Red Sox manager rank second only to Joe Cronin (1,071).

Francona made the shortlist of potential candidates to replace Tony La Russa in St. Louis in 2012,20 but after Mike Matheny was named manager, Francona found work at ESPN as a baseball analyst for the 2012 season.

On October 6, 2012, Francona was named the manager of the Cleveland Indians. The 2012 Indians finished with 68 wins under manager Manny Acta and interim Sandy Alomar Jr.21 Under Francona in 2013 they improved by 24 wins, earning a wild-card spot. At that time the wild-card “series” was a single game, and the Indians lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-0. Still, Francona was named AL Manager of the Year.

The Indians turned in winning seasons in 2014 and 2015, but didn’t make the playoffs. But they began building their arsenal of young talent, developing José Ramírez, Corey Kluber, and Francisco Lindor.

In 2016 the Indians won 94 games and their first AL Central Division title since 2007. Francona worked his old postseason magic in a 7-1 record in the first two rounds of the playoffs, with a sweep of the Red Sox in the Division Series and a 4-1 Championship Series win over the Toronto Blue Jays. It was Cleveland’s first appearance in the World Series since 1997, and they were looking to win their first Series since 1948. They faced the Chicago Cubs, who were in their own pursuit of breaking a 108-year championship drought.

Cleveland went up three games to one, but Chicago won the next three games, two of them by one run, including the 10-inning Game Seven. Still, Francona won his second AL Manager of the Year award.

The Indians won AL Central titles in 2017 and 2018 but lost in the Division Series in both years. The 2017 team posted the second-longest major-league winning streak ever, 22 games in a row in a 102-win season. The Indians won 93 games in 2019 but missed the playoffs.

In the pandemic-shortened season of 2020, Francona’s own season was further shortened when he underwent a procedure in August to relieve a blood clotting issue, with Sandy Alomar Jr. filling in. 

Francona took the rest of the year and postseason to recover, looking to come back in 2021 more healthy after a Cleveland wild-card loss to the Yankees. In 2021, with Cleveland at 50-49 heading into August, Francona stepped away again to deal with health issues, leaving coach DeMarlo Hale as acting manager for the rest of the year. Cleveland finished with an 80-82 record.

In 2022 a recovered Francona returned to guide the renamed Cleveland Guardians to a 92-win season. With franchise cornerstone José Ramírez and young pitching power in Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, and Emmanuel Clase, the Guardians won the Central Division title and beat the Rays in the wild-card series before falling to the Yankees in five games in the Division Series. Francona was recognized for his capability by winning his third Manager of the Year Award.

The Guardians faltered in 2023, and in August Francona started hinting at retirement, saying before a game, “I’ve talked to (President) Chris (Antonetti) and (general manager Mike Chernoff) at length about the future and everything, because I don’t want to put them in any kind of a predicament. We’ve had a lot of talks about moving forward.”22

Francona got a de-facto farewell tour in the final month of the season, and stepped down after the season. The Guardians hired Stephen Vogt as his replacement. Francona won 921 games as Cleveland manager, tops in team history.

Francona’s 1,950 wins place him 13th all-time in managerial wins, just ahead of Hall of Famer Casey Stengel and behind Hall of Famer Leo Durocher’s 2,008 wins. Francona’s success as manager in Boston and Cleveland will likely get him his place in baseball eternity as one of baseball’s men of constant success.

Acknowledgment

Thanks to Vince Guerrieri for working on and improving this biography.

Notes       

1 Joe Noga, “At 18 Years Old, Terry Francona Spurned His Dream College and Enrolled at Its Biggest Rival, Telling the Coach ‘I’m Going to Kick Your (Behind),’” Cleveland.com, March 9, 2020. https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2020/03/at-18-years-old-terry-francona-spurned-his-dream-college-and-enrolled-at-its-biggest-rival-telling-the-coach-im-going-to-kick-your-behind.html.

2 John Perrotto, “MLB Draft: Money Made It Easy for New Brighton’s Francona to Choose College,” Beaver County Times (Aliquippa, Pennsylvania), June 4, 2014. https://www.timesonline.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/06/04/mlb-draft-money-made-it/18499608007/

3 Joe Noga, “At 18 Years Old, Terry Francona Spurned His Dream College and Enrolled at Its Biggest Rival, Telling the Coach ‘I’m Going to Kick Your (Behind),’” Cleveland.Com, March 9, 2020. www.cleveland.com/tribe/2020/03/at-18-years-old-terry-francona-spurned-his-dream-college-and-enrolled-at-its-biggest-rival-telling-the-coach-im-going-to-kick-your-behind.html.

4 Zack Meisel, “A Trip Down Memory Lane with Cleveland Indians Manager Terry Francona: From Star High Schooler to 1st-Round Draft Pick,” Cleveland.com, June 2, 2014. https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2014/06/a_trip_down_memory_lane_with_t.html.

5 Zack Meisel, “Terry Francona Shares Tale of His Chaotic MLB Debut.” Cleveland.Com, May 17, 2017. www.cleveland.com/tribe/2017/05/terry_francona_recalls_his_maj.html.

6 That year, a players strike split the season in half, leading to the first Division Series, where the first-half winners played the second-half winners in each division. The Cincinnati Reds finished with baseball’s best record, but couldn’t participate in the postseason because they didn’t finish either half in first place.

7 Charlie Feeney, “Oliver Is Shooting for World Series,” The Sporting News, April 24, 1982: 16-17.

8 Ian MacDonald, “Francona Big Hit at Army Bases,” The Sporting News, February 21, 1983: 32.

9 Ian MacDonald, “Francona Angry Over Bench Role,” The Sporting News, July 8, 1985: 19.

10 Ian MacDonald, “Webster Feels He’s Proven Self,” The Sporting News, December 9, 1985: 54-57.

11 Sheldon Ocker, “Change of Scenery May Get Upshaw ‘Whacking Again,’” The Sporting News, April 11, 1988: 32.

12 Paul Newberry, “Barons Open Tonight With a Celebrity in Right Field,” Indiana (Pennsylvania) Gazette, April 8, 1994: 15.

13 In the 2020 documentary The Last Dance, Francona said that if Jordan kept at it, he could have gotten to the major leagues. Nick Selbe, “Terry Francona: Michael Jordan Would Have Made Majors ‘With 1500 At-Bats,’” si.com, May 10, 2020. https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2020/05/11/michael-jordan-terry-francona-mlb-baseball-career.

14 Zack Meisel, “Terry Francona Has Been One of MLB’s Most Influential Managers. What if This Is It?” The Athletic, August 23, 2023. https://theathletic.com/4799824/2023/08/23/terry-francona-guardians-retirement/.

15 Jim McCabe, “For Terry Francona, Pressure Rolls Right Off His Back,” Boston Globe, November 4, 2007. https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2007/11/04/for-terry-francona-pressure-rolls-right-off-his-back/wfj1WOwWdOiHXnBMMzrNVK/story.html . Francona himself collaborated with Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe on a full-length autobiography devoted to his years with the Red Sox. Terry Francona and Dan Shaughnessy, Francona: The Red Sox Years (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013).

16 Associated Press, “Middle of Order Powers Yankees,” ESPN.com, October 17, 2004. https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap/_/gameId/241016102.

17 Ronald Blum (Associated Press), “Yanks Pummel Red Sox 19-8,” Indiana Gazette, October 17, 2004: C5.

18 Howard Ulman (Associated Press), “Francona Wants Title,” Greenwood (South Carolina) Index-Journal, October 22, 2004: 4B.

19 Howard Ulman (Associated Press), “3-year Extension for Francona,” Quincy (Massachusetts) Patriot-Ledger, February 24, 2004. https://www.patriotledger.com/story/sports/pro/2008/02/24/3-year-extension-for-francona/40256603007/.

20 “Source: Terry Francona Interviews With Cardinals,” WBZ Radio, November 8, 2011. https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/terry-francona-could-interview-with-cardinals-as-early-as-Tuesday/.

21 Tyler Kepner, “Francona’s Approach Draws Raves In Cleveland,” New York Times, September 18, 2013. www.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/sports/baseball/act-2-in-cleveland-is-working-out-well-for-francona.html.

22 Chris Assenheimer, “Guardians Manager Terry Francona Hints at Retirement, Medina (Ohio) Gazette, August 22, 2023. https://medina-gazette.com/news/362859/guardians-manager-terry-francona-hints-at-retirement/.