The Boston Red Sox turned a new page in the 103-year history of their organization at a Fenway Park press conference Wednesday when they named former Philadelphia Phillies manager and Oakland Athletics bench coach Terry Francona as the 44th manager of the club.
After General Manager Theo Epstein called him the ‘ideal man’ for the club, Francona, 44, took to the podium to say how ‘honored’ and ‘thrilled’ he was to become the team’s new manager, calling the announcement the ‘most exciting day in my baseball life.’
‘The past couple years, people asked me if I ever wanted to manage again,’ Francona told the 50-plus reporters who convened inside Fenway’s .406 Club. ‘And kind of the standard answer was only in the perfect situation, and only a place where I thought I could be a real positive influence and excel and be part of a winning situation.
‘I was in my first interview with Theo and [Assistant General Manager] Josh [Byrnes],’ he continued. ‘And all of a sudden I thought ‘Oh my God, this place is for me.’ I knew right then and there that this is where I wanted to be.’
Francona, who managed the Phillies to a 285-363 record from 1997-2000, was the front-runner in Boston’s search for a new skipper after he ‘blew [Red Sox management] away’ in his interview, according to Epstein. The Oakland bench coach beat out Los Angeles third base coach Glenn Hoffman, Anaheim bench coach Joe Maddon and Texas first base coach DeMarlo Hale for the position.
At the age of 44, Francona is the fourth-youngest active manager in the major leagues. When Philadelphia hired him in 1997, he was the youngest manager in the big leagues at 37. The Red Sox are already familiar with youthful management Epstein, 29, became the youngest general manager in major league history when he was hired prior to the start of the 2003 season.
In his first official address to the media as the Red Sox manager, Francona said he is not fazed by the heavy expectations that surround the team for next season.
‘I’m very excited about those expectations. We’re supposed to win here,’ he said. ‘We’re trying to win next year, but we’re trying to win for a lot of years after that. That’s the whole idea to build a team that can win and then keep it together and win consistently. That is wonderful pressure.’
Francona is not the first former Phillie to join the Red Sox organization this preseason. Over the weekend, Boston signed pitcher Curt Schilling, who played for four years under Francona in Philadelphia, to a three-year contract with an option for a fourth. When asked about the positive things Schilling said about him earlier in the week, Francona said ‘Anytime one of your former players say something nice about you, it just makes you feel good.’
‘I think Schill just wants to pitch opening day,’ he joked.
Francona’s honesty and integrity as a manager as well as a person made him a perfect choice for the open managerial position, Epstein said, adding, ‘it’s so hard not to like him.’
The Red Sox did not offer to pick up former manager Grady Little’s contract option at the end of last season, saying his tendency to go with gut feelings rather than prepared statistics when making decisions frustrated the Boston front office.
Francona, who has a reputation for putting a great deal of time into preparing for games and opponents, said he is ready to step in as manager of a team that won 95 games last year and came five outs shy of a World Series berth.
‘I understand that this is a 24-hour-a-day job, and I am actually very excited about that,’ he said. ‘I don’t mind being busy, I love doing what I’m doing. I love doing it with the people I am doing it with.’