When Tucsonan Terry Francona, the NCAA’s 1980 baseball player of the year at Arizona, decided to “unretire’’ last week and become manager of the 2025 Cincinnati Reds, it put in play some of the most historic managerial records in MLB history.
Francona has managed 1,950 victories with the Red Sox, Phillies and Cleveland. That’s 13th in big-league history. With just two good seasons at Cincinnati, Francona could climb to No. 10, over Hall of Famers Leo Durocher (2,008), Walter Alston (2,042) and Joe McCarthy (2,125).
This entry is part of longtime Star columnist Greg Hansen's weekly notebook. Looking for more? Find updates and Greg's archive at Tucson.com/Hansen.
At 65, Francona has managed 3,623 games. He is now in play to become just the 10th manager ever to manage in 4,000 games. That’s the real Who’s Who of baseball managerial history. It puts Francona’s career into perspective.
The 4,000 Club: Connie Mack, 7,755; Tony LaRussa, 5,387; John McGraw, 4,769; Bobby Cox, 4,588; Bucky Harris, 4,410; Bruce Bochy, 4,356; Joe Torre, 4,329; Dusty Baker, 4,046; Sparky Anderson, 4,030.
The next time Francona retires, he’ll surely get a call from Cooperstown, New York, welcoming him to baseball‘s Hall of Fame.
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