Terry Francona

Guide Note:

Terry Francona is the current manager of the Boston Red Sox.

Fast Facts:

1. Manager of Boston Red Sox Since 2004
2. Led Boston Red Sox to 2004 and 2007 Championships
3. Manager of Philadelphia Phillies from 1997-2000

Terry Francona was born into a professional baseball household—his father, Tito Francona was a journeyman all-star outfielder who finished second in Rookie of the Year balloting in 1956 and played for nine teams in his 15-season career. The younger Francona followed in his father's footsteps, and was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 1980 amateur draft. He made his debut with the club the following year. He played for the Expos until 1985 before bouncing around to the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers for the next five years before retiring in 1990. During his 10-season career, he compiled a respectable .274 lifetime batting average.

After managing in the minors in the early 1990s, Francona became the third base coach for the Detroit Tigers in 1996 and the following season was hired by the Philadelphia Phillies to be the team's manager. During his four years with the Phillies, the team never finished above .500, and never finished above third place in the NL East. In 2000, Francona was fired, and over the next few years worked in various capacities in the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics organizations.

Francona's big break came in 2004, when he was hired to replace Red Sox manager Grady Little. In 2003, the Bosox had melted down in the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees and talk of the curse had never been louder. However, Francona managed his superstar team to a wild card berth, defeated the Yankees in a spectacular comeback, and swept the World Series from the St. Louis Cardinals. Francona repeated the feat in 2007, again leading his team to a World Series sweep, this time over the Colorado Rockies.