No surprise that Terry Francona is managing again. Baseball is his oxygen – Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio – That didn’t take long.

For those who know Terry Francona, that’s no surprise.

The former Guardians manager will soon return to the dugout as manager of the Cincinnati Reds, according to several reports.

As many Cleveland baseball fans know, Francona loves everything about the game. During the season, he lived at the ballpark. He had a condo downtown, and rode to Progressive Field on a scooter.

So why did he leave the Guardians last season?

During his 11 years in Cleveland, Francona battled significant health issues. Some of them were major, such as a heart problem and a staph infection in his foot. He announced in August 2023 that he was “retiring” at the end of the season.

At that small meeting with reporters, I pressed Francona about his health situation. He admitted he needed shoulder reconstruction surgery and another operation to deal with a pair of hernias.

He admitted to being “worn down.” He was frustrated because he didn’t have what he considered the necessary physical stamina to do the job as he wanted. He believed his physical limitations were putting too much pressure on his coaches.

All of that was true.

But baseball people knew if Francona could rest and regain some semblance of his health, he’d be back. He doesn’t have hobbies. His love for baseball remained not just a flame, but a roaring hot blazing fire.

His 11 years in Cleveland with nine winning seasons and six trips to the playoffs enhanced his reputation as a likely future Hall of Fame manager.

He won a World Series in big-market Boston. He was a three-time Manager of the Year in small-market Cleveland.

I heard teams were reaching out to Francona after the 2023 season, checking to see if he was serious about sitting out in 2024. That was true. He remained with the Guardians as an advisor as he recuperated from his offseason surgeries.

Meanwhile, the Guardians hired Stephen Vogt as manager. The Guardians won the Central Division with a 92-70 record, the same mark they had under Francona in 2022 when they also were Central Division champs.

Now at the age of 65, he takes over the Reds. It’s a young team with talent in a small market that even shares the same Goodyear spring training facility as the Guardians. It’s going to be fun to have “Tito” back, for baseball fans and for him.