HOUSTON — Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona has talked in recent days about the possibility of retirement, calling himself “old and beat up.”
Francona is in his 11th season as Guardians manager and he’s Cleveland’s all-time winningest manager. He has 905 wins with the Guardians after posting 744 victories with the Red Sox from 2004-11. Of course he led Boston to World Series titles in 2004 and ‘07.
“I think the whole balance of health and everything you have to do as a manager comes into play,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said about Francona on Thursday. “If this is it, shoot, sign me up to the Hall of Fame induction because he’s a Hall of Famer not only as a manager but as a person.”
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Cora played under Francona with the Red Sox in 2005-07. Cora said people ask Francona about his manager-player relationship with Cora.
“He always says he was tough on me as a player,” Cora said. “I don’t believe so. I think he made me better. He made me realize a lot of things. A lot of guys have influenced me to be the manager I am and Tito is one of them. So we’ll see what happens but if this is it, amazing. He’s been amazing.”
Francona has dealt with several health issues . He had a hip replaced in 2021 that forced him to miss the second half. He was in the ICU with a blood-clotting situation in 2020 when he also had gastrointestinal issues. He was rushed to the hospital after falling ill before a game in July.
