Biography

Call 1.800.966.1380 to contact Terry Francona booking agent, publicist, manager, pr firm, representative and management company if you would like to hire Terry Francona for a speaker appearance, autograph signing, endorsement deal or corporate event. Here you can find speaker fees, booking fees, costs, availability and schedule information. Baseball manager, Terry Francona, was born on April 22, 1959 in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Francona is the current manager of the Cleveland Indians and former manager of the Boston Red Sox.

Terry Francona was drafted out of the University of Arizona in the first round of the 1980 amateur draft by the Montreal Expos, using the 22nd overall selection. That season, his team won the College World Series[2] and Francona was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.[3] The left-hander wasted no time rising through the minor leagues, first appearing in a Montreal uniform August 19, 1981, a week after the end of that summer's player strike. He appeared mainly as an outfielder that first year, and he went 4-for-12 in the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, an extra playoff round utilized that year because the season was conducted in two halves as the result of the strike. The Expos won that series, three games to two.

Terry Francona then entered coaching, spending several years in the Chicago White Sox organization. In 1991, he managed the rookie league Sarasota White Sox of the Gulf Coast League. In 1992, he ran the South Bend White Sox of the mid-level Class A Midwest League. As manager of the AA franchise Birmingham Barons from 1993-1995, he posted a 223-203 record and won two distinctions: Southern League Manager of the Year in 1993, Baseball America's Minor League Manager of the Year in 1993, and top managerial candidate by Baseball America in 1994, the same year Michael Jordan played for Birmingham. Birmingham won the Southern League championship in 1993.

Terry Francona became third-base coach for the Detroit Tigers in 1996, working under their new skipper, Buddy Bell, a former teammate of Francona on the Reds. After the season ended, he was hired as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies (with Michael Jordan's endorsement), who had won the NL pennant in 1993 but then experienced three consecutive losing seasons. In Francona's four seasons (1997 through 2000) as the Phils' skipper, the club never rose above third place in the National League East Division. His best finish with the Phillies was 77–85 in 1999. He was fired following the 2000 campaign, and spent the following season as a special assistant to the general manager with the Cleveland Indians (2001), which was followed by two one-year terms as a bench coach for the Texas Rangers (2002) and Oakland Athletics (2003).

The Red Sox hired Francona to manage their club in 2004, after Grady Little's contract was not renewed after the Red Sox loss in the 2003 American League Championship Series.

Terry Francona led the Red Sox to a 98–64 record in 2004, the second-best record in the American League behind the division-rival Yankees. Under Francona's leadership, the club gelled in the second half and was the hottest team in baseball after the All-Star break.

On February 24, 2008, the Red Sox announced that they had extended Francona's contract. Instead of expiring at the end of the 2008 season, it will expire after the 2011 season. The team also holds club options for 2012 and 2013.[6] Francona is guaranteed a total of $12 million over the first three years of the contract between his salary and the $750,000 buyout he will receive if his 2012 and 2013 options are not exercised. The package, if the options are exercised, is worth about $20 million.

Terry Francona married Jacque Lang on January 9, 1982. They have four children: son Nicholas, and daughters Alyssa, Leah, and Jamie. They now live in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.