Tag: Terry Francona

Here’s why Terry Francona is spending the start of baseball season following the Arizona Wildcats in March Madness

There’s people who like Arizona basketball, and, then, there’s Terry Francona.

Terry Francona, the former manager of the Cleveland Guardians and two other historic MLB franchises, is a known baseball savant to many people. However, Francona is a major hoops head, and it’s why you’ll likely find him in the stands during the Arizona Wildcats’ NCAA tournament run.

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Francona lives just 10 minutes away from McKale Memorial Center in Tuscon and has attended every Arizona Wildcats home game but one this season as he eases into retirement. He’s what most consider a superfan and is a member of the athletic department’s Hall of Fame. And it’s clear to see he’s enjoying it all.

Look at what he told Zach Buchanan of Defector about getting enjoying a title run from the outside:

“Winning the World Series is incredible, but it’s also your job. About 10 minutes later, I’m like, ‘What’s next?’ Francona says. “If we win here, I’ll go to a parade on my own.”

“I’m a fan, man,” he says. “It’s different, and it’s OK. [Expletive], I love watching them play.”

You’re likely to see Francona sitting close to the court during the NCAA tournament whenever the Wildcats are playing. He doesn’t let anything stop him from seeing his team, including a mountain of health issues like hip and circulation problems that have lasted for decades. He’ll likely be there when they take on Long Beach State on Thursday during the first round of the NCAA tournament and wherever the team goes next.

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Terry Francona inexplicably didn’t challenge a clear missed call at first and fans couldn’t believe it

You NEED to challenge that.

In the MLB postseason, you absolutely cannot afford to let opportunities go to waste — especially in an elimination game. Terry Francona and the Cleveland Guardians may regret that after Tuesday’s Game 5 of the ALDS against the Yankees.

Francona (and really, the Guardians replay coordinator Mike Barnett) had a rough Game 4, missing both of his challenges on obvious calls at first base. That could’ve had Francona more reluctant with his replay challenges in Game 5, but to not even take a look at an obvious missed call? It was curious, to say the least.

The play in question happened in the fourth inning with the Guardians already down three runs. Andres Gimenez hit a grounder to first that forced Anthony Rizzo into a diving race for the bag. Gimenez was called out on the field, but replays would show that the play wasn’t that close at all.

Gimenez was clearly safe. It would have been a quick review and overturn in Cleveland’s favor. But Francona didn’t even appear to give a call upstairs to look at the play. They let the inning come to an end and waste a would-be baserunner.

Again, Francona wasn’t the one watching the replay, but there really needs to be more diligence and better communication with the replay booth. That was a clear missed call, and MLB fans couldn’t believe the Guardians botched that sequence.

MLB ump threw out both managers on the same play and fans couldn’t believe the wild scene

This was total madness.

We’ve seen MLB umps do a lot of weird/bad things this season and that continued Monday night in Cleveland when Guardians manager Terry Francona and Angels manager Phil Nevin were both were ejected after one play in the seventh inning.

This was all pretty wild. Francona started things off by getting the boot after he argued with home plate ump Ron Kulpa after Francona thought Andrés Giménez was hit by a pitch. The Guardians manager came out of the dugout, said a bunch of bad words to Kulpa and was shown the door.

After that argument took place, Nevin got upset when the umps wouldn’t let his pitcher, Ryan Tepera, take a few warmup pitches after the long delay. Nevin let his feelings be known and then he was tossed, too.

Let’s look at the ejections.

Francona got in a lot of F-bombs:

Here’s the ump not allowing a warmup pitch:

Here’s the whole sequence:

Amazing.

Twitter had reactions.

Terry Francona’s son rips Zach Plesac for posting anti-media rant after breaking COVID protocol

Sit this one out, Zach.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Zach Plesac — along with teammate Mike Clevinger — have been quarantined from the team after they were caught breaking MLB’s COVID-19 protocols during a weekend series in Chicago.

Plesac was out with friends and didn’t return until the early morning hours. And in Clevinger’s case, the team didn’t realize Clevinger had also broken protocol until they had already flown back to Cleveland. It was a terrible look for both players, especially when the Cardinals are still dealing with a team-wide outbreak. You’d think other players would take it more seriously.

But on Thursday, Plesac posted a long Instagram video to tell his side of the story. In doing so, he blamed the media for how he and Clevinger had been portrayed.

The rant didn’t go over well with his manager’s son, Nick, though.

Nick — the son of Indians manager Terry Francona — took to Twitter on Thursday and shared the six-plus minute video, telling Plesac to “shut the (expletive) up until he can demonstrate he isn’t an oxygen thief.”

In his video, Plesac said that the media was “terrible.” He also claimed that he followed Ohio’s health guidelines (he was in Illinois while breaking MLB’s rules) by going out to dinner with a group of eight buddies and then going back to someone’s home.

Plus, shooting an entire six-minute video while driving probably wasn’t the best way to demonstrate a serious appreciation for public health.

Instead of blaming the media, Plesac should probably focus on mending a damaged relationship with his teammates. That video won’t help.

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WATCH: Terry Francona’s World Series rings recovered from burglary

Police have recovered two World Series rings belonging to Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona.

Police have recovered two World Series rings belonging to Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Tucson, Ariz., made an arrest Tuesday night tied to a burglary of Francona’s Tucson-area home, in which his 2004 and 2007 World Series rings from his time as the Boston Red Sox manager were stolen.

Francona reported the rings stolen Nov. 7, though the burglary is believed to have taken place earlier in the year.

The sheriff’s department said in a statement that investigators discovered the rings had been sold to a sports memorabilia store in Phoenix by someone asking for $40,000 per ring.

The suspect was arrested and charged Tuesday with three felonies: second-degree burglary, theft, and trafficking stolen property.

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=Pima%20County%20Sheriff%27s%20Department%20world%20series%20rings&epa=SEARCH_BOX

Police have recovered two Red Sox World Series rings stolen from Terry Francona

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced that they had recovered the two rings, which were reported stolen in November.

Two World Series rings belonging to former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona have been recovered, according to the Sherriff’s Department in Pima County, Arizona.

The rings were reported stolen back in November, and were recovered when they were purchased from a local memorabilia store. This is hilarious, that this guy stole two World Series rings and then successfully hawked them to the local store. How did they think he got the 2004 and 2007 World Series rings?

From ESPN:

Jamey Estep, 33, has been arrested and charged with second-degree burglary, theft and trafficking in stolen property, which are felonies, according to the department.

Francona, now the manager of the Cleveland Indians, managed the Red Sox from 2004 to 2011, winning those two Series titles.

Shoutout Jamey Estep. You almost got away with the crime of the century, right up until you didn’t.

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