Terry Francona: Boston Red Sox Manager for an Amazingly Long Haul

It's easy to forget now that before Terry Francona's arrival, baseball managers did not last long in Boston.

In fact, you have to go back to Joe Cronin, who managed from 1935-47, to find a manager who lasted in Boston as long as Francona has so far.

With the incredibly intense scrutiny from fans and media, it has never been easy for Sox management to hold on to the same manager for multiple years.

Yet Francona, 51, has kept his management team pleased during his seven years. The Red Sox have won two World Series titles and made the playoffs in five of the seven seasons. He's in his eighth year now.  

Just yesterday, a report surfaced that Francona's contract will be extended for two years following the end of the 2011 season. Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman, in a Twitter report, wrote that the Sox intended to pay Francona an annual salary of $4.5 million for 2012 and 2013.

The Boston Globe and Boston Herald reported this item about Francona, but the news was not treated like a big deal. The baseball media and fans have grown accustomed to Francona and aren't surprised he's staying.

Yet how can we ever forget the environment Francona walked into back in his first spring training in February of 2004?

The Red Sox were still suffering the aftereffects of arguably their most agonizing "close call"—their painful, masochistic loss to their hated rivals, the New York Yankees, in Game 7 of the 2003 ACLS. This was unlike any of the Red Sox other torturous defeats: The 2003 Sox loss, in the view of most fans, was due, solely to their manager.

That's right. It was seen as all manager Grady Little's fault because Little, of course, had left a fatigued Pedro Martinez in that Game 7 too long.

Red Sox fans remember, but many forget how unique that dynamic was. The manager's position had never attracted so much ire and disgust. How often does that happen—that a manager draws 98 percent of the blame for a team's key playoff loss in any sport

The new management team of owner John Henry, CEO Larry Lucchino and GM Theo Epstein passed their first big test by choosing to fire Grady Little. They hired Francona, who had managed the Philadelphia Phillies through four losing seasons. While Sox officials spoke of his strengths, it wasn't hard to imagine Francona's stay being limited—like those of his predecessors.

The circumstances required that Francona show his stuff quickly in 2004, and he did. It helped to have that unique collection of fun-loving, talented players jell late that season and have David Ortiz carry the team on his back vs. the Yankees in the dramatic 2004 ACLS, the greatest comeback in sports history.

Francona has endured ups and downs since then and managed to keep his players happy and playing hard. He has his flaws. Sometimes he seems too accommodating to his players. Sometimes you wish he'd sit a player down or assert himself more. He leaves his starting pitchers in a bit long at times. He doesn't make spontaneous, "out-of-the-box" moves when they seem called for.

Yet Francona is steady and usually makes sensible decisions during games. He seems to care about his players every season, and they seem to respect him.

Francona must be doing something right. The Red Sox have been around for 110 years, and he's outlasted all his predecessors but Joe Cronin. Even Cronin led the team to only one pennant compared to Francona's two World Series. Francona, with his new extension, will have until at least 2013 to win it all a third time.