Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona, affectionately known as Tito, is concluding his 11-year career with the team and retiring from the game.
The 64-year-old won two World Series with the Red Sox and has enjoyed a long baseball career as a player, coach, and manager.
Tonight Terry Francona bids ado too the game that has meant every thing to him , The Game he has loved his entire life. i just want to say thank you Tito , thank you for everything you did for this game and this great town. #dirtywater #RedSox #Boston .. @Redsox Retire # 47 pic.twitter.com/nTS0pJzABq
— Murph (@TMurph207) September 27, 2023
Health issues have plagued him in recent years, but he continued to be relentless in his pursuit of bringing winning baseball to Cleveland.
His career in Cleveland includes six postseason trips, one of which was the 2016 World Series.
In his last home game, the Guardians honored him with a pregame ceremony, and fans wearing “Thank You Tito” t-shirts demanded two curtain calls from a reluctant Francona who was ready to get down to business and play baseball.
.@CleGuardians manager Terry Francona is honored prior to his final home game at Progressive Field.
Tito ❤️ pic.twitter.com/gfvozJg0Y4
— MLB (@MLB) September 27, 2023
As if it could end no other way, the Guardians won the game 4-3.
Fans will never forget Tito, calling him the GOAT.
He is ranked 13th all-time in MLB wins with 1,948 most recently surpassing Casey Stengel who had 1,905.
The only active managers with more career wins are Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker (7th with 2,159) and Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy (10th with 2,091).
Terry Francona will retire as a manager with roughly 1,950 career wins. Buck Showalter is not far behind at 1,723 career wins. Of course, both Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy have reached 2,000+ wins, it might be a long, long time before another manager reaches 2,000 wins.
— Jeff Young (@BaseballJeff1) September 27, 2023
Francona’s career officially concludes on Sunday, October 1 at the end of a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers.
Fans hope he stays with the organization in some capacity, but it is really unclear what his future plans are.
Terry Francona has been an outstanding manager and representative of the Guardians. He’s been the olive branch between fans and management. Hopefully he stays with the organization in some role if he were to retire at the end of the season.
— Ken Carman (@KenCarman) August 22, 2023
Take a bow TITO!
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