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Impact Of Terry Francona On Cleveland Indians Is Immeasurable

By Glenn Moore

May 22, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona (17) in the dugout prior to a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
May 22, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona (17) in the dugout prior to a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports /
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The face of the Cleveland Indians is Terry Francona, who signed an extension Tuesday morning with franchise through 2018.

Terry Francona and the Cleveland Indians finished the 2014 season over .500, marking the first time the franchise has had back-to-back winning seasons since 2000-2001.

You can put the recent success of the club on the shoulders of Francona.

Since being hired in October of 2012, Francona has changed the culture of Cleveland Indians Baseball. Once a proud franchise in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the fans of Cleveland have been teased with the occasional surprise season by the Tribe.

Francona is turning the Indians into a winning organization and making the ballclub a contender in the American League Central for consecutive seasons.

The Indians now the worth of Francona, which is why the franchise locked up their 55-year-old manager with a two-year contract extension through 2018, including club options in 2019 and 2020.

This secures Francona, if all goes well, with the Tribe until the next decade.

“Being here is something I’m really grateful for. Every morning, I’m excited to come to work,” Francona said in a video interview announcing the contract extension.

Francona joined the Indians after eight seasons as manager of the Boston Red Sox and two World Series titles. He immediately set the tone, leading the Tribe to the playoffs in his first year. He also won American League Manager of the Year in 2013.

You take a look at the Tribe’s roster and you don’t see a standout superstar. You have a few above average ball players, but you don’t have your typical “face of the franchise” player.

Instead, the face of the franchise is Francona.

In two years, he has won 177 games as manager, ranking him fourth all-time when it comes to the franchise’s record books for managers in their first two seasons.

While Francona and the Indians were unable to reach the postseason in 2014, they still won 85 games and were contenders for a playoff spot until the final week of the season.

Winning 85 games with a roster suffering from key injuries and down years from their big-money players, Francona instilled trust into new faces, who made big contributions.

After trading away Justin Masterson, who started the season as the team’s ace, and shipping Asdrubal Cabrera to the Nationals, it almost seemed like finishing over .500 would be impossible. But the Indians were able to bounce back and get key contributions from players that Francona trusted.

Corey Kluber continued to show progress and became the ace after the Masterson trade. He was the reason why the Indians were in the race until the end and should win the American League Cy Young Award.

Michael Brantley become the Indians’ MVP on the field, hitting .327, 20 home runs and driving in 97 runs with 200 hits. He’s also locked in with the Indians until 2018.

While being lost in the shuffle in Cleveland sports behind the likes of Johnny Manziel and LeBron James, who arguably are No. 1 and No. 2 in national headlines on a weekly basis, Francona is quietly becoming the most influential and meaningful person for his respective team.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be playing basketball well into June and the Cleveland Browns sit at 5-3 and playing meaningful games in November. The Indians are competing with both franchises and seem to be lost in the shuffle, even though they are the last Cleveland sport’s franchise to reach the postseason.

Jun 16, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway (left), catcher George Kottaras (53) and manager Terry Francona (17) celebrate a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 16, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway (left), catcher George Kottaras (53) and manager Terry Francona (17) celebrate a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

But more importantly, it comes down to the players buying in to what Francona is selling and producing on the field when given the chance.

“I checked with a couple of the players. I believe this is about the players. I wanted them to be comfortable knowing that I was going to be here also, or I wouldn’t have done this,” Francona said during the video interview.

The Indians won’t set any records with free agent signings or make blockbuster trades. They will have to win within their means and hope they catch lightning in a bottle with the players they do have.

Giving Francona the confidence vote and letting him work with the players they do have takes away any pressure when it comes to making roster moves internally. They organization trusts Francona, and he hasn’t let them down yet.

In the world of professional sports where it’s all about ‘what have you done for me lately’ attitude, Francona has shown the city of Cleveland that the Indians are on the right path to becoming a contender every year.

The franchise is counting on Francona to continue the trend and giving him an extension is the right move. But for the Indians to have a chance in a division where the Detroit Tigers have won on a regular basis and Kansas City Royals have emerged as a legitimate contender, signing Francona to an extension cannot be the biggest move of the team’s offseason.

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