Terry Francona Illness: Updates on Indians Manager's Status and Return
The Cleveland Indians will be without manager Terry Francona for Tuesday's game against the Washington Nationals because "he was experiencing chest pains before [the] game," per Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com.
Continue for updates.
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Francona Comments on Incident
Wednesday, Aug. 10
"I've had this before," said Francona, per Hoynes. "The same thing happened at Yankee Stadium." The manager continued:
"Remember I had the blood clots and embolism and all that (in 2001)? Well, a couple of years later at Yankee Stadium it felt like almost the same thing. At the time they felt like one of the blood clots had slipped through the screen I have in there and acts and feels like a heart attack.
It went away, but it put me in the hospital for three days. It was opening day 2005. We took the bus in from (Manhattan) to Yankee Stadium and Millsie (Mills was Francona's bench coach in Boston as well as Cleveland) had to wake me up and I was drenched in sweat. I put my uniform on. I figured I could fake my way through. Ten minutes later I said forget this something is wrong with me.
"
Francona added he will have additional tests when the team returns to Cleveland on Thursday.
Bench Coach Brad Mills to Manage
Tuesday, Aug. 9
The Indians made an announcement regarding the situation:
Francona told reporters before the contest that he was having chest pains, according to Hoynes. Tuesday's game marked the first of a two-game set in Washington for the American League Central leaders.
Francona managed the Philadelphia Phillies from 1997-2000 and the Boston Red Sox from 2004-11 before joining the Indians for the 2013 campaign. Since then, he has racked up an impressive 320-274 record in Cleveland and reached the American League Wild Card Game in his first season. However, the Indians lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in that contest and haven't returned to the postseason since.
Francona directed the Red Sox to two World Series titles during his tenure, the first of which came in 2004 and snapped the "Curse of the Bambino." It was the franchise's first championship since the 1918 season.
When he returns, Francona has the Indians well-positioned to challenge for a World Series title of their own this season. They led the American League Central over the Detroit Tigers by 2.5 games coming into play Tuesday, although they are only 2-5 in August.
