'That’s what makes him Tito'

BOSTON — Terry Francona is leaning way back in his chair in the visiting manager’s office at Fenway Park. This ballpark was his home for eight seasons, which included two World Series titles and one of the most memorable managerial tenures of the 21st century. Earlier this week, after downplaying his return to Boston for his first series there as the Cincinnati Reds’ manager, it’s brought up to Francona that he’s on the verge of winning his 2,000th game.

Have you thought about that day?

“Noooooope,” Francona said, with extra emphasis on the letter “O.”

Francona is five wins away from that milestone. He’ll become the 13th manager in big league history to reach that milestone, and every manager in that group is either already in the Hall of Fame or will be in the Hall of Fame as soon as they’re eligible.

But Francona isn’t going to make this about himself.

“That’s what makes him Tito,” Reds bench coach Brad Mills said.

Francona just wants the Reds to go into the All-Star break with some momentum. He just wants to keep winning.

***

A few years ago, MLB Network was putting together an hour-long feature on Francona’s career. MLB Network reached out in November about doing an interview during spring training with Francona.

“I said, ‘Yeah, whatever, I’ll be there.’ Like I always do in November,” Francona said.

He continued, “I didn’t realize it. I thought it was an interview. They’re doing an hour. I finally had to apologize to them. I told the guy I’m not comfortable. I said I like talking about the players. You’re doing this on me, and I’m really uncomfortable.”

There are a lot of stories like this. Even a few during Francona’s short tenure in Cincinnati.

When Francona won his first game with the Reds, he downplayed it so much that Reds closer Emilio Pagán crashed the manager’s postgame press conference to present Francona that game ball in front of the media. Pagán, one of the team’s veteran leaders, wanted Francona to make sure that he knew the team was happy for him.

Two months later, Francona was back in Cleveland. He managed there for 11 seasons, and the Reds’ road series against the Guardians was Francona’s return. Before the game, the Guardians showed a tribute video to honor Francona.

Pagán found himself standing next to Francona in the Reds’ dugout as the video played. Pagán watched Francona watch the video.

“Not that he wasn’t appreciative of the situation, but you could tell it kind of made him uncomfortable,” Pagán said. “He even said it after the game. He wished that Mills and (hitting coach Chris) Valaika would have gotten more of the video because they were a huge part of doing what they did.”

Pagán noted a quality in his manager.

“He knows how great he is and how gifted he is at his role, but he also truly believes that it takes everyone in the organization to get where the team and organization want to go,” Pagán said. “He does a really good job of making everybody feel like they’re vitally important to the team's success. Because of that, he doesn’t want any of the added notoriety.”

***

Back in the visiting manager’s office in Fenway Park, Francona is answering a few questions about his upcoming 2,000th win. Then, there’s a look in his eyes. He has a joke to tell.

Francona missed a significant amount of time during his tenure with the Guardians due to illness. DeMarlo Hale, Mills or Sandy Alomar Jr. served as interim managers during those games.

“Truth be told, I’d probably already be there (at 2,000 wins) if Demarlo (Hale) and Millsy and Sandy (Alomar) did better when I was sick,” Francona said.

Francona’s sense of humor is something that he’s well known for. Reds reliever Brent Suter sees similar qualities in Francona and some famous comedians.

“He’s one of the funniest guys I’ve met,” Suter said. “It’s a prankster combined with goofing around with also hilarious wit. It’s a combination. He has his own verve with the humor, and it’s hilarious. He’s all about building relationships that way.”

There are one liners that are completely out of left field. There are quick-wit responses that underscore just how sharp Francona is. But his favorite style of humor seems to be jokes that poke fun at himself.

Last week, the Reds arranged for a raised seat to be placed at the top of the dugout for Francona to sit in. Because of the engineering required for the process, what worked best was using a seat from a boat. Francona played along by sitting in the chair, donning a captain’s hat and saluting for a photo that was posted to social media.

Early on in the season, he thought his water bill was on autopay and found his water shut off when he returned from a road trip. This stuff happens to everybody. What’s not typical is for this news to be relayed to the public on television. This story was shared on the Reds’ broadcast.

Francona knows how to keep it loose, and that is a part of his approach of setting the tone in the clubhouse.

“That’s why people love to be around him,” Reds assistant coach Mike Napoli said. “He’s the same guy every single day. He has fun with this. He knows that it’s such a long year and you’ve got to be able to have fun and keep everyone loose. He’s really good at doing that.”

***

The Francona effect is hard for the players to describe but very present.

“It’s a boring answer, but every day is a new day to him,” Pagán said. “His decisions aren’t impacted by the results of yesterday or what could happen in the future. He’s solely focused on what’s the best way to win today’s game with who we have available. It’s no magic answer. He believes that we have enough each and every day.”

Mills has known Francona as long as anybody, and they were teammates at the University of Arizona. Mills has been on Francona’s coaching staff for most of the last 30 years. Mills points to the 2,000 win milestone as an example of how good Francona is.

“You sit here and think about it,” Mills said. “2,000 wins. You divide that by 162 games? That’s like a little over 12 seasons of undefeated baseball. That’s unbelievable. When you look at it in that context, you start to realize what he has done and what the accomplishment is.”

Francona is in the middle of his 24th season as a big league manager. He has run four different teams. When asked about his longevity, Francona uses the word “addicting” to describe the feeling he gets in the ninth inning of a close game.

“I didn’t always feel like I needed to be a manager,” Francona said. “Especially after (getting fired in) Philadelphia (in 2000). I really didn’t. But I knew I wanted to stay in the game. I’m equipped for nothing else. That’s not being humble. I’m equipped for nothing. This is all I can do. And this is all I ever wanted to do.”

He wasn’t sure that he was going to manage in 2025 until Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall and general manager Brad Meador flew out to Tucson, Arizona, to meet with Francona face-to-face last October. Francona always says about that meeting, “It just felt right.” He was ready to get back into the grind of managing in the big leagues. “When you feel ok, you like going through it with people you care about,” Francona said recently.

As soon as he took the job, Francona said that he felt like a “button went on.” He started bringing his phone around with him everywhere again in case someone needed to reach him. He called every single player on the roster. In the first week of spring training, he had an official meeting with everyone in big league camp.

“He’s an absolute open book,” Reds reliever Brent Suter said. “You can go into his office anytime and he’ll tell you the truth in a loving way out of respect. It’s open communication. It’s always an open conversation between us. The communication is off the charts.”

Austin Hays highlights a few messages that Francona has delivered to the team that really stand out to him.

“I really hope what we did last night doesn’t affect today. If it does, we’re not as good as I thought we were.”

There’s also, “There’s one way to play, and that’s the right way at all times.”

Francona has also emphasised more situational hitting, opposite field hitting, a selective approach toward baserunning and the importance of playing clean baseball. The Reds have done a great job of that over the last month as they’ve gotten back into the playoff race.

Meador checks in with Francona often.

“I ask him about three times a week how he’s feeling,” Meador said. “I think he’s having a good time. He’s enjoying it. He feels good. He certainly has the energy to back it up.”

***

Francona’s long-time friends have been talking about what they’re going to do to commemorate Francona’s 2,000th win. They know what they’re getting into.

“I don’t think he wants it,” said Napoli, who played for Francona and is now on the Reds’ staff. “It’s just part of it. He has had a good career. I don’t think it’s going to be a crazy big deal for him. That’s how he is. He’ll definitely downplay it. He’ll probably not even like it. But it’s such a great accomplishment. Only a handful of people have been able to get there.”

Francona and Napoli play cards every single day. Napoli is asked if he’ll let Francona win a card game as a present.

“I’m pretty sure he’d like that,” Napoli said.

Mills has been around Francona for almost all of it, from the World Series wins to the Manager of the Year awards.

“He’s going to pass (the 2,000th win) off,” Mills said. “He’ll take it in how he takes it in. That’s with the people around him. The players. Front office. Enjoy it, and then move on. Just being here as a group, the celebration will be as we move on. How we play and how we go from there. That’s what he would want. I think that’s what we’ll do.”

Francona is set to join a list of 13 managers with 2,000 wins, and the only ones to reach that milestone since 1980 are Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, Bruce Bochy, Sparky Anderson and Dusty Baker.

When asked about the company that he’s about to be a part of, Francona says, “I believe so strongly that the game has to be about the players. What means more to me is the day to day. I love that part of it.”

While Francona isn’t going to be patting himself on the back, the people around him are going to make sure that Francona has a 2,000th win to remember.

“It’s an unbelievable achievement,” Pagán said. “We’re very fortunate and blessed to be the group that’s going to get him there.”