(Cleveland) - The Cleveland Indians have announced a two-year contract extension for Manager Terry Francona thru the 2022 season. Francona, 59, is in his seventh season at the helm, guiding the franchise to the American League’s best record at 547-427 (.562) during his tenure since 2013. “Tito” has led the club to three consecutive American League Central Division titles, captured the American League crown in 2016 and has led Cleveland to four Postseason appearances in six full seasons. He is already sixth in career managerial wins (547) in the 119-year history of the franchise while his .562 career winning pct. is third-best in club history.
The New Brighton, PA native owns an 18-year Major League managerial record of 1576-1342 (.540) with Philadelphia (1997-2000), Boston (2004-11) and Cleveland (2013-19) as his 1576 wins currently rank second among active Major League skippers. He has guided his clubs to a pair of World Series titles (Boston 2004, 2007), 14 consecutive winning seasons, has received BBWAA Manager of the Year votes in nine different seasons and was named A.L. Manager of the Year in both 2013 and 2016. Francona has led his teams to at least 90 wins 10 times in his career, most among active managers and has accomplished the feat in four of his six full seasons with the Indians.
“Simply put, Tito has been a transformational leader, who has not only impacted our Major League clubhouse, but also the entire organization,” said Indians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti. “Our relationship has been truly collaborative and we are all fortunate to have a future Hall-of-Fame manager guiding our team as we continue to pursue our ultimate goal of bringing a World Series championship to the city of Cleveland.”
(Photo by Rob Tringali/Getty Images)
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