Former Arizona baseball great Terry Francona will reportedly be named the next manager of the Cleveland Indians.
Francona, 53, worked as an analyst for ESPN this past year after being fired by the Boston Red Sox in 2011. Francona won two World Series titles with the Red Sox, including the title in 2004 that broke Boston’s 86-year drought.
His overall record as a manager isn’t quite as illustrious — Francona has a .529 winning percentage in his 12 year managerial career and had a losing record when he coached the Philadelphia Phillies from 1997-2000.
He was fired by the Red Sox in 2011 after going 90-72 and missing the playoffs, but Francona’s resume was impressive enough to make him just one of just two candidates interviewed for the job in Cleveland. Francona worked with the Cleveland organization before as an adviser in 2001.
The other candidate, Sandy Alomar Jr., was the interim manager for the Indians over the final six games this season after former manager Manny Acta was fired Sept. 27. The Indians went 3-3 under Alomar.
Cleveland went 68-94 this year and had the second worst record in the American League.
Francona said the reports are premature, but multiple sources confirmed that he will be introduced as the Indian’s 42nd manager during a press conference Monday.
While Francona’s MLB playing career was average at best, hitting just .274 percent in his 10-year journeyman career, his accomplishments as a Wildcat earned him a spot in the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Before leaving for the draft after his junior season, Francona won the Golden Spikes Award for the top collegiate player and lead the Wildcats to their third College World Series title in 1980.
Francona earned the College World Series MVP after hitting .401 and nine home runs during the playoffs and charging Arizona to the title with a record, at the time, of seven consecutive hits.
The 1980 CWS title was the Wildcats last championship before they won in 2012.