Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona retires after 23 seasons
By: Amelia Marlow

Terry Francona, manager of the Cleveland Guardians, is honored during a pregame ceremony at the final home game of his MLB career. (Stacey Marlow).

Cleveland Guardians fans recently bid farewell to Terry Francona as he wrapped up his final season in the MLB. Francona, more commonly known as Tito, announced his decision to retire in early September after taking time to reconsider his career due to his health.

Tito mentioned in late August that there were several conversations with Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff, both top-level officials of the Cleveland Guardians, about his shape and the team’s future. Francona has a long list of health issues that have impacted his ability to actively participate with the team including several surgeries which were scheduled during the offseason.

When asked about his future of being a manager for the Cleveland Guardians in an interview with MLB Network Radio, Francona responded with “It’s time. My body is telling me that, [and] my head is telling me that. And I don’t want to stay on for the wrong reasons.”

Francona explained, “I hope I have too much respect for, not just the game, but for this organization to do that. So I’ve been pretty clear with the guys I work for, and told them to start preparing because it’s time.”

Fox 8 News wrote that Tito is leaving the Cleveland Guardians as the “winningest manager in team history.” He led them to six postseason berths, including making it to the World Series in 2016. It is likely that Francona will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at least five years from now because of his accomplishments.

Francona’s career managing teams in the MLB include leading the Philadelphia Phillies (1997-2000), Boston Red Sox (2004-2011) and the Cleveland Indians/Guardians (2013-present) as listed by baseballreference.com.

CBS Sports stated that Francona has 1,948 career wins and 1,670 losses as a manager of the MLB which is around a 0.539 winning percentage. His average season standing was 87-75. While overseeing the Philadelphia Phillies, his approximate winning percentage was 0.440. Tito ranks 13th all-time in manager wins.

The biggest achievement for Francona while being a manager of the Boston Red Sox was winning the World Series in 2004 against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Red Sox won the World Series under the direction of Tito again in 2007. While leading the Cleveland Indians in 2016, the team lost the World Series in seven games to the Chicago Cubs. During the 2017 season, the Cleveland Indians won a franchise record 102 games.

Between managing Boston and Cleveland, Tito advanced to the playoffs 11 times with the postseason record being 44-34. He also won three pennants and five division titles. In 12 of the 19 seasons of overseeing these two teams, Francona won at least 90 games.

Not only will people miss Tito for his passion for baseball and managing the Cleveland Guardians from the bench during games, but he will also be forever known for touching the hearts of his fans with his light-hearted personality.

Dr. Bryan Beigie, a professor of Exercise Science and Sports Leadership at John Carroll University, shared his insights on Francona’s retirement.

“Terry Francona is an unbelievable manager and leader who has enjoyed an extremely successful career in professional baseball. Having won 1,948 games over the course of his managerial career, along with multiple World Series trips and trophies demonstrates the effectiveness of his abilities.

However, I think his ability to reach the players in his clubhouse, to build lasting relationships and connect and communicate with them honestly but compassionately is what sets him apart from so many other successful managers throughout history.”

When the news of his imminent retirement emerged, Beigie expressed his initial thoughts, highlighting the challenging decision-making process faced by someone deeply entrenched in a demanding profession like professional baseball coaching, where the role becomes an integral part of one’s identity

“Deciding to retire is so much more than simply deciding to stop managing. It is essentially the beginning of a new phase of your life. I am sure that it was very difficult for Mr. Francona to come to that conclusion.”

He went on to explain that “the second thought went to the Cleveland Guardians organization. Since 2012, when Terry Francona decided to join the club as their manager, the Guardians have been such a well-respected organization who cares for their players.”

Beigie believes that Francona played a significant role, but the organization’s rare alignment of purpose among key figures at every level was the main reason for establishing and sustaining a strong positive culture in the Guardians’ clubhouse and front office for over a decade

Sports Illustrated specified that the search is currently on to find Terry Francona’s replacement as manager of the Cleveland Guardians.

Dr. Beigie wrapped up with “The challenge before them will be to make a decision on who can be a person who can help maintain that culture, while at the same time allow themselves to be their own authentic self as the new leader of the Cleveland Guardians baseball team.”