Terry Francona needed some time away from baseball. A year was long enough.
One of baseball's most beloved managers, Francona has been hired by the Cincinnati Reds, returning to a team he played for after stepping down in Cleveland following last season because of health reasons.
The Reds announced the hire Friday. Francona has agreed to a three-year contract through the 2027 season with a club option for 2028, the team said in a statement.
Francona, who won two World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox, is replacing David Bell, fired by the Reds last month in the final days of his sixth season. Bell went 409-456 during his tenure.
Francona, who turns 66 in April, played as an outfielder for Cincinnati in 1987. He hit .227 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 102 games.
He said he was excited to join a club with Cincinnati's history and tradition.
"I can't wait to start meeting and interacting with these good young players of ours,” Francona said in a statement.
Bob Castellini, the Reds' principal owner and managing partner, said he was proud to welcome Francona to the team.
"Terry’s proven track record speaks for itself. He is an outstanding manager who will lead our club forward,” Castellini said.
It’s easy to see the appeal of the situation for both Francona and Cincinnati. The Reds went 77-85 this year, but they have one of the game’s most dynamic players in Elly De La Cruz and a potentially deep rotation fronted by Hunter Greene.
Francona helped All-Star third baseman José Ramírez become one of baseball’s best all-around players in Cleveland, and he should have no problem commanding the attention of Cincinnati’s young roster.
Francona's hiring was met with some mixed feelings in Cleveland with some fans disappointed he would join the club's in-state rival.
First-year Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, who replaced Francona, is excited he's back in the game.
“Tito is obviously somebody I’ve looked up to,” Vogt said before the Guardians worked out ahead of Game 1 of the AL Division Series. “He’s helped me tremendously this year. We want the best people working in baseball, and Tito is definitely one of them. Sure-fire Hall of Famer.
“When the best people are in the game, the game is a better place, so I’m really excited for Tito.”
After leaving the Guardians, Francona, a three-time AL Manager of the Year, spent time at his new home in Arizona and mostly kept a low profile other than attending basketball games at his alma mater in Tucson. He returned to Cleveland briefly during the summer to help launch a new restaurant in which he has an ownership stake.
Francona has a 1,950-1,672 record in 23 years as a big league manager with Philadelphia (1997-2000), the Red Sox (2004-2011) and Guardians (2013-2023).
He was slowed by serious medical issues in his final years in Cleveland but stayed clear of calling his departure a retirement.
“I never was real concerned about the word retire,” he said last year. “I guess when you say retire, it’s like, well, you’re going home and not doing anything. Don’t feel that way either. We’ll figure something out that makes sense."
He found that something on the other side of Ohio.
With 1,950 wins, he’s 13th on the career list, sandwiched by Casey Stengel (1,905) and Leo Durocher (2,008), two other colorful managers who like Francona endeared themselves to fans and players.
Francona’s rise as one of the game’s best managers was somewhat unexpected.
Things didn’t go particularly well for him in Philadelphia, where he had four straight losing seasons, got constantly booed in a demanding, sports-crazed city and had the tires on his car slashed on fan appreciation day.
He was an unlikely choice for Boston’s job, but he immediately claimed legendary status by winning the World Series in his first season.
The Red Sox overcame a 3-0 deficit in the AL Championship Series and swept St. Louis to end an 86-year championship drought and exorcise the “Curse of the Bambino,” a perceived hex on the team after Babe Ruth was sold to the rival New York Yankees.
When his tenure in Boston ended in 2011 amid some controversy, Francona took a year off and worked in broadcasting before going to Cleveland, where his dad, Tito, spent six seasons and he himself played 62 games in 1988.
Francona took Cleveland to the playoffs seven times in his 11 seasons and won 921 games. The Guardians, then known as the Indians, made it to the World Series in 2016, only to lose to the Chicago Cubs in a seven-game series.
Known as Tito, Francona became popular in Cleveland with his quick wit and affable personality. He rode a scooter from his downtown apartment to the ballpark each day, often waving to fans along his short route.
Francona could have taken jobs elsewhere but felt a deep connection with Cleveland's organization after his dad played for the Indians in the late 1950s and early '60s. He was forced to take two lengthy leaves of absence with Cleveland in 2020 while dealing with heart and gastrointestinal issues.
For his final game with the Guardians on Sept. 27 last season, the club handed out "Thank you Tito” T-shirts to fans at Progressive Field and the Guardians sent him out in style with a 4-3 win — over the Reds.
Afterward, Francona said he needed a break.
AP Baseball Writer Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed to this report.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
FILE -Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona applauds during a tribute video before the team's baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, in Cleveland. Terry Francona has been hired to manage the Cincinnati Reds, returning to the major leagues a year after he stepped down in Cleveland because of health. A person familiar with the situation confirmed the move on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024 on condition of anonymity because the Reds had not announced the decision.(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people slightly injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians.
A further 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before the projectile hit just before 4 a.m. Saturday, the military said.
The Houthi rebels issued a statement on the Telegram messaging app saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify.
The attack comes less than two days after a series of Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and port city of Hodeida killed at least nine people. The Israeli strikes were in response to a Houthi attack in which a long-range missile hit an Israeli school building. The Houthis also claimed a drone strike targeting an unspecified military target in central Israel on Thursday.
The Israeli military says the Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and drones during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthis have also been attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and say they won’t stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Israeli strikes Thursday caused “considerable damage” to the Houthi-controlled Red Sea ports “that will lead to the immediate and significant reduction in port capacity,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The port at Hodeida has been key for food shipments into Yemen in its decade-long civil war.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said both sides’ attacks risk further escalation in the region and undermine U.N. mediation efforts.
In the Gaza Strip on Saturday, mourners held the funerals of 19 people — 12 of them children — killed in Israeli strikes on Friday and overnight.
One of the strikes hit a residential building in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least seven Palestinians, including five children and one woman, and injuring 16 others, health officials said.
In Gaza City, another strike on a house overnight killed 12 people, including seven children and two women, according to Al-Ahli Hospital where the bodies were taken.
Mourners gathered at the hospital in Gaza City Saturday morning. Women comforted each other as they wept over the bodies before they were carried away. One man, stony-faced, cradled a tiny shroud-wrapped body in his arms as he carried it along the funeral procession.
In Al-Aqsa Hospital of Deir al Balah, white body bags containing those killed in Nuseirat were taken from the morgue and loaded onto the back of an open truck to be taken for burial.
Overall, Gaza's Health Ministry said Saturday that 21 people had been killed and 61 were wounded over the past 24 hours.
Israel faces heavy international criticism over the unprecedented levels of civilian casualties in Gaza and questions about whether it has done enough to prevent them.
Israel says it only strikes militants, and blames the Hamas militant group for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in residential areas.
More than 45,200 people have been killed and more than 107,500 wounded in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, when a Hamas attack in Israel killed about 1,200 people and triggered the devastating 14-month war in Gaza. Local health officials do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but have said more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
The Israeli military organization dealing with humanitarian affairs for Gaza said Saturday it had led a “tactical coordinated operation” delivering thousands of food packages, flour and water to the Beit Hanoun area in the north of the Gaza Strip.
The organization, known by its acronym COGAT, said trucks from the U.N. World Food Program transported 2,000 food packages, 1,680 sacks of flour and thousands of liters of water to distribution centers in the area on Friday.
Aid groups have said previously that military operations and armed gangs have hindered their ability to distribute aid to civilians in need.
Gaza's Health Ministry issued an urgent appeal Saturday for medical and food supplies to be delivered to Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, near Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, while the hospital director described dire conditions.
The ministry said in a statement that there was continuous gunfire and Israeli shelling near the hospital. “Shells have struck the third floor and the hospital’s entrances, creating a state of panic,” the ministry said.
Hospital Director Dr. Husam Abu Safiyeh said the facility was “facing severe shortages."
“Despite promises, we have not received the necessary supplies to maintain electricity, water, and oxygen systems," Abu Safiyeh said. "Our requests for essential medical supplies and staff have largely gone unmet.”
He said the World Health Organization had delivered 70 units of blood, but that the hospital requires at least 200 units to meet urgent needs. He said 72 wounded people were being treated at the hospital.
The shortages extend beyond medical necessities. “Food is very scarce, and we cannot provide meals for the wounded. We are urgently calling on anyone who can provide supplies to help us,” he said. “The staff is working around the clock, yet we cannot even provide meals for them.”
Shurafa reported from Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Majdal Shams, Golan Heights, contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp are prepared for the funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Men pray over the bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp during a funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat arrive at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital before their funeral in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
An Israeli soldier observes the site where the missile launched from Yemen landed Jaffa district, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Tomer Appelbaum)
