Terry Francona Tended to Brutal Overnight Dental Situation Hours Before Opening Day

In this story:
The Cincinnati Reds are hoping to embark upon an exciting season with Opening Day on Thursday, one filled with wins and Elly De La Cruz highlights. Unfortunately for manager Terry Francona, things got off to a painful start.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Reds' first game of the 2025 season against the San Francisco Giants, Francona revealed he had to deal with an overnight dental emergency ahead of his team's home opener.
Per Reds reporter Charlie Goldsmith, Francona woke up at 2 a.m. with a broken veneer. He went back to sleep and got up again a few hours later to head straight to the dentist's chair. The veteran manager got it fixed, and he's locked and loaded for Opening Day.
Terry Francona woke up at two this morning with a broken veneer. He then woke up again at six to get it fixed. The day started in the dentist chair. “I’m ready to go.”
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) March 27, 2025
Some real classic baseball guy stuff right there. You think a broken veneer is going to stop Terry Francona from getting to the ballpark for a game? Absolutely not.
Exactly what we've come to expect from the MLB lifer. Francona's Reds throw the first pitch at 4:10 p.m. ET on Thursday.
More MLB on Sports Illustrated

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.
Follow liam_mckeone