Terry Francona is in Incredible Managerial History as Stellar Career Comes to Close
As Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona likely gets set to retire after the year, he leaves behind an incredible baseball legacy and an indelible mark on baseball history.
Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:
love this Tito stat from the @MLBNetwork research squad:
Francona is 1 of 3 managers to win a World Series with one team and 900+ games with another, along with:
Sparky Anderson (Reds, Tigers)
Bruce Bochy (Giants, Padres)
That's pretty rare company indeed. Francona is one of the most successful managers in baseball history, having spent 23 years in the position among three teams (Phillies, Red Sox and Indians/Guardians). He's been to the playoffs 11 times, winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007 with the Red Sox. His 900+ wins come with the Cleveland franchise, where's he's won 920 games heading into the final weekend of the season.
He's got 1,949 career wins which is 13th in baseball history behind:
1) Connie Mack, 3,731
2) Tony La Russa, 2,884
3) John McGraw, 2,763
4) Bobby Cox, 2,504
5) Joe Torre, 2,326
6) Sparky Anderson, 2,194
7) Dusty Baker, 2,180
8) Bucky Harris, 2,158
9) Joe McCarthy, 2,125
10) Bruce Bochy, 2,092
11) Walter Alston, 2,040
12) Leo Durocher, 2,008
13) Francona
Every one of those managers is in the Hall of Fame with the exception of Baker and Bochy, who are both still active. Both of them - along with Francona - figure to be enshrined in Cooperstown as well.
The Guardians' final series of the year begins Friday night in Detroit.
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