The Cleveland Guardians May Have Revealed Terry Francona’s Future Plans For Him

Terry Francona is one of baseball's most popular managers, with a 23-year long career with three different teams.

He's managed the Cleveland Guardians since 2013, winning the American League Central three times and making the World Series in 2016. And while the 64-year-old hasn't announced anything about his future plans, his team may have done that job for him.

MLB.com's Mandy Bell revealed this week that the Guardians are set to give out t-shirts before their final home game of the season on September 27th, with a message saying "Thank you, Tito." That sure seems like a pretty clear indication that Francona's set to retire, or at least move on from his long time home in Cleveland.

CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 15: Terry Francona #77 of the Cleveland Guardians is introduced before the game against the New York Yankees in game three of the American League Division Series at Progressive Field on October 15, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Terry Francona's Retirement A Loss For Baseball

If he does choose to retire, it'll mark the end of an incredibly successful, fun career.

Francona is universally respected around the game, won two World Series with the Boston Red Sox, and has a reputation for humor and love of the game. A 2018 story from Sports Illustrated detailed how he works with the Cleveland scoreboard operator to prank opposing managers.

For Tampa Bay's Kevin Cash, for example, Francona had the scoreboard put up his career batting line, an atrocious .183/.248/.273.

He's also won three Manager of the Year awards during his career and guided his teams to 11 postseason appearances. Unfortunately, Francona's also had to deal with increasing health issues in recent years, missing games in 2020 and 2021.

"I want to enjoy what I'm doing. It's getting harder to do that, just because physically it's harder. I just want to be careful. And at the same time, I want to be fair to the team," he told the media in late 2022.

Normally, when someone with his longevity and reputation retires, they announce it themselves. Apparently not this time!