Tyler Stephenson Catches Terry Francona Off Guard With Hilarious Prank

A funny moment in the Cincinnati clubhouse.

Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona (77) relives pitcher Brock Burke (49) in the seventh inning of the MLB Interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, March 29, 2026. The game was scoreless after three innings. The Reds won 3-2 to take the season-opening series from the Red Sox. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

During Tuesday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Reds broadcaster Jim Day told a hilarious story about a prank that catcher Tyler Stephenson played on manager Terry Francona in Spring Training.

One of the things that Terry Francona does to get exercise is swim laps. Tyler Stephenson wanted to come up with a prank involving swimming, so he decided to put Francona’s face all over a Speedo. Stephenson put it on, wrapped a towel around himself, and walked into the coaches' room.

Next, Stephenson said, “hey Tito, I heard you're big into swimming, how would you like to give me some lessons?”

He then dropped the towel, and Francona couldn’t stop laughing.

"So it took me like a day or two of how I wanted to do it," Stephenson said. "If I wanted to give it to him, go in his office, so I put it on one day and I was going to go into Tito's office and he wasn't in there. He was in the coaches' room, which I guess was even better at the time."

"And he had a towel on," Francona recalled of Stephenson. "And he said I need to see you now. So I got up to go in the office and I thought, oh gosh, what happened? And he goes 'no, right here,' but he had an edge to him. I was like, man. He whipped that towel off and he had that Speedo on with, you know, my picture on it and I about had a heart attack.I was going to wear it the next day because I thought the guys would get a kick out of it, but by the time I got it on, I couldn't even breathe. I got it hanging over there, I'll keep it as a souvenir, but I don't think that is going to be seeing the outdoors of anywhere because I know people have cameras now."

There’s a reason Terry Francona is known as a manager players love to play for. He doesn’t tolerate nonsense, but he also keeps things loose, enjoys a good joke, and isn’t too serious to laugh when one’s on him.

You can watch the full segment with Jim Day below:

Tyler Stephenson played a HILARIOUS prank on Tito. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/tIREVkZRhS

— Reds Daily (@RedsDaily4) March 31, 2026

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