Terry Francona, Cleveland Indians agree to contract extension
By Aaron Somers
Terry Francona and the Cleveland Indians have reached an agreement on a two year contract extension. The new deal, which the team announced Tuesday morning, will keep Francona at the helm through the 2018 season. It also reportedly includes a pair of club options for 2019 and 2020.
Francona’s first managerial job came in 1997 with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was just 38 at the time and spent four years with the club, never finishing above .500. He was fired following the 2000 campaign and it was three years before he’d get another opportunity.
Joining the Boston Red Sox for the 2004 season, Francona had an instant impact on the organization. Boston won the Wild Card that year, finishing 98-64, before taking an improbably (and memorable) run through the postseason en route to the team’s first World Series championship in 86 years. Three years later they’d repeat the feat, this time as AL East division champions. The team appeared primed for another lengthy playoff run in 2011 before things collapsed in September, leaving the Red Sox out of the postseason and Francona out of a job.
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Francona joined the Indians prior to the 2013 season and has seen success in his first two years with the club. In 2013 he led the Indians to a 92-70 mark, good enough to win a Wild Card spot and earn him Manager of the Year honors. This past season the Indians finished 85-77.
Long viewed as a player’s manager and well respected across the game, the Indians made a bold – but logical – move to lock up their skipper early and ensure there’s continuity in the clubhouse in the years to come as their young players continue to develop, hopefully leading the team to playoff success.