Terry Francona

Terrence Jonathon "Terry" Francona (born April 22, 1959), nicknamed "Tito", is the current manager of the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball. He was a first baseman and outfielder in the majors from 1981 to 1990. After retiring as a player, he managed several minor league teams in the 1990s before managing the Philadelphia Phillies for four seasons. In 2004, Francona was hired to manage the Boston Red Sox, and that year he led the team to its first World Series championship since 1918. He won another World Series with Boston in 2007 and continued to manage the team until the end of the 2011 season. In 2013, Francona was hired to manage the Cleveland Indians. That year, the Indians won 92 games and lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card game.

As a player

Youth

Francona grew up in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, where he got his start in baseball at High School. His father is Tito Francona, who played in the majors from 1956 to 1970, and whose career is highlighted in the book "Portrait of a Franchise: An Intimate Look at Cleveland Indians Baseball During the Rockin' Sixties" by Doug Kurkul. Francona is of Italian ancestry.