Remembering Terry Francona's Boston years

This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Before he turned into the scooter-wheeling Terry Francona who provided a lot of wins and perhaps even more laughs in Cleveland, the man known as “Tito” throughout the baseball world planted the seeds for his likely Hall of Fame managerial career in the pressure-cooker of Boston.

So as Francona manages the final games of his illustrious 23 years as a manager this week for the Guardians, his legacy will be recalled fondly in every corner of Red Sox Nation.

• 'Thank you, Tito': Francona leaves lasting mark ahead of impending retirement

When Francona was hired by the Red Sox prior to the 2004 season, the Red Sox hadn’t won a World Series in 86 years.

That drought ended, fittingly, in Francona’s first year at the helm. The Sox won it all under Francona again in ’07, sweeping the Rockies in the Fall Classic just as they swept the Cardinals in ’04.

Keep in mind that Francona came to Boston as an unproven manager who finished under .500 in all four seasons he was with the Phillies.

But general manager Theo Epstein did a lot of digging and was convinced that Francona was the right man to guide the club going forward.

When situations intensified, such as when the Red Sox trailed the Yankees, 3-0, heading into Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, Francona was the calmest person in the room.

“He was great on many different levels,” said Kevin Youkilis, who played for the Red Sox all eight years Francona managed the club. “He understood how to get the most out of players but he also knew how to connect with them during the toughest of times.

“It’s easy to connect with players when they’re going good but it’s how he connected with players when they’re going bad that stood out. Good advice, self-deprecation and mixing in the humor part. I think it was just the trust. A lot of times, he just trusted you and believed in you when you’re at your toughest moments. That was the biggest one for me that he was good at that.”

Dustin Pedroia was perhaps the best example of Francona’s trust factor. When the highly touted rookie hit .182 in the first month of the ’07 season, Francona gave no thought to suggesting the Red Sox send the diminutive right-handed hitter back to Triple-A for more seasoning.

Backed by his manager’s confidence, Pedroia found his swing in early May and was the AL Rookie of the Year winner for a championship team. A year later, Pedroia won MVP for a team that made it all the way to Game 7 of the ALCS before a heartbreaking loss to the Rays.

“I wouldn’t have even had my career if it wasn’t for him,” Pedroia said. “I look at a coach or a person you look up to, you look at how they treat you when you’re not at your best. He was at his best with me when I was at my worst. That’s what makes him.

“Anybody can manage David Ortiz in his prime or Manny Ramirez in his prime or even me in my prime. You just put him in the lineup and press play.

“When a guy is a rookie and he’s unproven and he’s struggling in one of the biggest fanbases in baseball, with so much pressure to win, and for him to treat me the way he did, it just shows that not only is he the best manager, he’s one of the best people, too. I owe him everything. And it’s not just me, I’ve seen him do it with numerous guys.”

Though Francona has always been known as a players' manager, that doesn’t translate to pushover. Just ask Yankees hitting coach Sean Casey, who played the final Major League season with Francona as his manager in ’08.

“It’s tough to ride that fine line between feeling like your manager is your friend and your dad,” said Casey. “He did that as well as anyone I’ve ever seen. You know he had your back but you also knew you better be ready to play. There was also a toughness about him. He was a great manager and knew the game. He’s a winner. And he got the most out of guys.”

Sometimes, Francona didn’t need more than a facial gesture for his message to be received.

When it came to that pivotal moment of the historic comeback against the Yankees that started with the ninth inning of Game 4, all Francona did was give Dave Roberts a wink.

That was his way of telling Roberts to go steal the base that wound up saving the season.

Roberts is just one of the members of the Francona managerial tree, joining the likes of Kevin Cash, Alex Cora, Rocco Baldelli and Gabe Kapler.

“I think the thing I learned most about Tito was how we dealt with people -- from the front office, to media to the players to the star players to the role players,” Roberts said. “He was very consistent and a very positive guy. And for me, I think you always felt he had your back.”

Mark Bellhorn sure knew Francona had his back in that ’04 ALCS when he stuck with him, even after the second baseman continued to scuffle at the plate. In Game 6, Bellhorn roped a three-run homer that vaulted the Red Sox to a winner-take-all Game 7 at Yankee Stadium. And when Game 1 of the World Series was locked in a 9-9 tie, Bellhorn mashed a homer off Pesky’s Pole in right to lead his team to victory.

But Francona wasn’t afraid to make a change in a big situation either. Take the ’07 ALCS against Cleveland. With veteran center fielder Coco Crisp struggling mightily, Francona made the switch to September callup Jacoby Ellsbury for Games 6 and 7 at Fenway.

Aside from graduations for his kids, or other precious family moments, Cora has never asked for a day off in his time as the manager of the Red Sox.

But he is eyeing one in a few years.

“Sign me up to the Hall of Fame induction, because he's a Hall of Famer, not only as a manager but as a person,” said Cora. “I’ll ask for that day off. He's a guy, whenever they ask him about our relationship, he always says he was tough on me as a player. I don't think so. I think he made me better. He's amazing."

The real payoff took place in the World Series, when Ellsbury went 7-for-16 with four doubles in the sweep of the Rockies.

“Nobody saw Jacoby playing in the World Series over Coco. Nobody saw that, and he decided that was the route,” said Cora. “He was very patient with Dustin, and it paid off.”