Happy Birthday, Tito

Sunday, April 22, 2007

I already mentioned this in Monday's Birthdays of the Week post on One More Dying Quail, but today is Red Sox manager Terry Francona's 48th birthday.

A couple of interesting things about Francona: almost exactly one month before he was born in 1959, his father Tito was traded to Cleveland for OMDQ favorite Larry Doby. It ended up being Papa Francona's best major league season, with career highs in a number of offensive categories including batting average (.363), homeruns (20) and OPS (.980).

Let's all pause for a moment to pay tribute to the man who helped bring Boston its first championship in 86 years (if sitting back and letting $120 million of payroll do its thing can be classified as "help"). He's bald. He deserves it.

Oh, and Phillies fans? I know you're angry, but please stop throwing batteries. They hurt.

(Quick question, mildly off topic: were any Red Sox fans out there disappointed when Francona was hired because of his reputation as a laid back individual? After the Grady Little Era, I was looking forward to a guy who could throw a Lou Piniella or Butch Hobson-level nutty - I'm talking pulling bases out of the ground and climbing the outfield walls. Not enough of that in today's game.)

(Photo: ESPN.com)

Posted by One More Dying Quail at 3:31 AM

1 Comments:

I was a little disappointed when they hired him. But I like him now. My all time top 2 nutties are Lloyd McClendon taking second base into the clubhouse with him and that minor league guy that made the internets last year.

MDG said...
Apr 22, 2007, 11:46:00 AM  

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