Tito Francona, R.I.P.

Former MLB player John "Tito" Francona passed away on February 13th at the age of 84. The cause of death has not been released. His son, of course, is current Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona whose nickname is also Tito.

A native of Western Pennsylvania, the elder Francona signed with the St. Louis Browns out of high school. By the time he reached the majors in 1956, the Browns had moved east to Baltimore. Splitting time between the outfield and first base, Francona had a strong rookie season with the Orioles finishing tied for second in AL Rookie of the Year balloting with Rocky Colavito in a year that saw future Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio win the honors.

However, Francona would suffer the sophomore jinx in 1957 and prior to the 1958 season was sent to the Chicago White Sox in a seven player deal which included Larry Doby, the AL's first African-American player. Things did not improve for Francona on the South Side of Chicago and by June of that year he was again sent packing this time to the Detroit Tigers in a four player deal for Ray Boone, the father of Bob Boone and grandfather of Bret Boone and current New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone. Alas, Francona was no more productive at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull and was again traded again for Doby this to the Cleveland Indians prior to the 1959 season.

Francona would make an immediate impact in Cleveland hitting career highs in both batting average (.363) and home runs (20) along with 79 RBI. Those numbers were good enough to finish fifth in AL MVP voting in 1959. In 1960, Francona led the AL in doubles with 36 and in 1961 would earn his lone AL All-Star Team selection. Francona would remain with the Tribe through the 1964 season.

Between 1965-1970, Francona bounced around with the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Oakland A's and the Milwaukee Brewers where he was largely relegated to pinch hitting duty. In 15 big league seasons, Francona collected 1,395 hits for a lifetime batting average of .272 with 125 home runs and 656 RBI.

In the video above taken in July 2015, Francona talks about the 1959 season and reminisces about teammates like Herb Score, Rocky Colavito and Gary Bell as well as the challenges of traveling. R.I.P.