I have been meaning to write about the end of Terry Francona's big league managerial record which concluded last Sunday with the Cleveland Guardians.
In recent years, Francona has had a myriad of health problems which has forced him to miss extended periods of time during the 2017, 2020 and 2021 seasons. Francona managed the Indians/Guardians for 11 seasons and proved to be their winningest manager guiding them to an AL pennant in 2016.
Of course, "Tito" is probably best remembered for helping to end the Boston Red Sox's 86-year curse by managing the team to a World Series title in 2004 and again in 2007. In 23 seasons as a big-league manager (which also included a less than successful tenure with the Philadelphia Phillies), Francona finished with 1,950 wins ranking him 13th on the MLB list.
Yet when I think of Terry Francona, despite my long-term residency in Boston, I think of him as that line driving hitting outfielder for the Montreal Expos and with a full head of hair who I saw play his 8th MLB game when the Expos won their only pennant in 1981. His promising career was derailed by not one but two season ending knee injuries.
Francona would become a journeyman playing off the bench for the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers ending his playing career in 1990. Tito would become a minor league manager in the Chicago White Sox organization from 1991 through 1995 famously managing Michael Jordan with the Double-AA Birmingham Barons. Francona returned to the major leagues in 1996 as Buddy Bell's bench coach for the Detroit Tigers. A year later, Francona was named manager of the Philadelphia Phillies which as mentioned earlier was not successful as he would be dismissed during the 2000 season.
After a season in the Indians front office in 2001, Tito returned to the dugout serving as a bench coach for the Texas Rangers in 2002 and the Oakland A's in 2003 when he got his chance to manage the Red Sox in 2004 thereby making history before nearly making history yet again in Cleveland. He thrice won AL Manager of the Year - once with Boston in 2013 and twice with the Tribe in 2016 and 2022. Just shy of 2,000 wins as a big-league manager, I think Francona has more than a reasonable shot of getting into Cooperstown.
The same cannot be said for Gabe Kapler, Buck Showalter or Phil Nevin. The San Francisco Giants relieved Kapler of his duties during the final weekend of the regular season. Two years removed from winning a franchise record 107 games, the Giants were 54-41 on July 18th only 1½ games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. As recently as August 3rd, the Giants were 61-49 only 2½ games back of L.A. The team then went 17-32 before Kapler's dismissal as the Arizona Diamondbacks seized their opportunity to get into the post-season with a NL Wild Card berth. Kapler, who played under Francona when the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series, also managed the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018 and 2019 and owns a 456-411 record as a big-league manager. Kapler will probably get another opportunity. While Kapler has managed two big league teams, Buck Showalter has managed five big league teams - the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and the New York Mets.
The New York Mets fired Showalter despite a year remaining on his contract. In 2022, Showalter led a resurgent Mets team to 101 wins making their first post-season appearance since 2016. This year, the Mets went from 101 wins to 75. Not even a starting rotation with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander could save this team. With the Mets hiring David Stearns as President of Baseball Operations last month, he wants his own man in the dugout. But Showalter might not be unemployed for long. Showalter is very interested in managing the Los Angeles Angels who recently fired Phil Nevin.
Nevin was only in charge of the Angels on the field for 1½ seasons. He replaced Joe Maddon on an interim basis in 2022 and was given a one-year contract for this season. The Angels treaded water for most of the season. At the end of July, the team was 56-51 and added pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez along with sluggers C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk at the trade deadline.
The Angels then promptly lost 7 in a row and never got back above .500 again. A month later they would waive all the players they acquired except for Cron. Mind you, this is a team that can't win with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. The Angels' problems run much deeper than changing managers which they will now do for the fourth time since the end of 2018 when Mike Scioscia stepped down after 19 seasons at the helm and a World Series title in 2002. Hiring Showalter won't make much of a difference. The Angels will have to do a complete rebuild which isn't going to be pleasant news for Halos fans who haven't had a winning team since 2015. Yes, the Angels will continue to have a devil of a time.
As for Nevin, unlike Kapler and Showalter (and for that matter Tito if his health permits) will be given another chance to manage at the big-league level although he will certainly stay in baseball as a coach. That might not be fair, but that is certainly baseball.
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