Terry Francona's Time As Guardians Manager Is Up To Him
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There's a trend in all four of the major sports that the moment things start to go south for a team all the blame is put on the coach or manager. It's incredibly rare that the same coach sticks around for four to five years.
Then there are the rare occasions when a coach is around for over a decade. An example of this anomaly is Terry Francona who has been Cleveland's manager for 10 years.
Tito has found a lot of success managing in Cleveland. In his first season, he took the then-Indians to a Wil Card game against the Tampa Bay Rays. There was also the 2016 season where the Indians reached the World Series. Tito's management of their bullpen may have changed how other managers look at their relief pitchers.
However, last season was arguably his finest performance.
We all know how the Guardians were the youngest team in baseball and were overlooked by just about everyone. Despite this, they went out and won and took the New York Yankees to a game six in the ALDS.
He also has three Manager of the Year Awards including one that he won for his work during the 2022 season.
With all the success that Tito has had in Cleveland, the front office has made it clear to him that he is welcome to coach the team as long as he feels he's able to.
Francona's health is something that has been a big concern over the last few seasons. He missed well over half of the 60-game 2020 season and he stepped away with a month and a half left of the 2021 season for foot surgery.
Thankfully, Tito was in the dugout for just about the entirety of the 2022 season.
Guardians GM Mike Chernoff had this to say about Francona's future:
“Whether it’s on paper (for) five years or one year, it’s less of a factor or concern to us. It’s more making sure we’re re-assessing with him whether he wants to continue going down this path and whether he feels healthy enough to continue going down this path. That’s how we’re looking at it and that’s how he’s looking at it.”
This gives fans a good insight into how the organization is approaching this unusual situation.
Tito also chimed in on what coaching in Cleveland means to him:
“There’s probably a ton of reasons. One, I love where I’m doing it. If I had been anywhere else, I’d probably already be home. I love the fact that we have something, I think, that could be pretty special here moving forward."
How many more years Tito is the manager in Cleveland is anyone's guess. But one thing is for sure, as long as he's in town Cleveland will continue to be in good hands.
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