There's a saying in Boston that goes something like: "Baseball is not a matter of life and death but The Red Sox are". Oh so true. As a lifelong Sox fan (62 years old), I have seen this franchise fail so often and in such humiliating ways both on and off the field that a World Series championship was never even on my radar.
Then in the 2004 ALCS, Tito and his gang rally from a 3 - 0 deficit to the New York Yankees, THE YANKEES, the bane of The Sox very existence, and then go on to sweep the powerful Cardinals to win THE WORLD SERIES!
Most fans know these stories but this book pulls no punches revealing the stories behind The Sox' renaissance. Dan Shaughnessey of the Boston Globe co-wrote this book. DS is a long time Globe sports writer famous for his humor, insight and acerbic observations. Together, Tito and DS present so much more than a baseball story. Tito is a baseball man all the way. I hope men like Tito will always be in baseball. They are tough, gritty, committed leaders who labor behind the glitz and glamor of their teams' successes and they take the fall for their teams' failures with fortitude.
Francona: The Red Sox Years is a page-turner about a baseball man confronted with many daunting challenges that simply did not exist in 'the old days': Mass media 24x7 in-your-face coverage; mega-million, prima donna players with no sense of responsibility or loyalty to their teammates, team or manager (see the odious Manny Ramirez) and owners who love the spotlight of success but are quick to duck when success is elusive.
Francona handled all of these obstacles as well as debilitating injuries from his own baseball career, the torment of divorce along with public betrayal and personal humiliation from a group of owners who derailed The Red Sox and then needed to blame someone. Throughout all of these trials he stood up for his team and quietly tried to salvage a team that was rotting internally from too many toxic, arrogant underachievers brought in by owners who wanted the team to 'be more sexy'.
I love this book. I think baseball fans everywhere will find this book worth reading. For a Sox fan it is so interesting, exasperating and inspirational. Francona helped to bring two championships to Boston. All the while he remained a genuine person. This book gives me an appreciation for who Terry Francona really is. Simply, he's a guy from Beaver County PA who loves baseball and he's so grateful that he's been able to have a career doing what he loves. He cares about his players and he wants to win.
For any baseball fans, it is a wonderful story of one of the good guys in pro sports and also a window into the unfathomable business of major league baseball. Good luck in Cleveland Tito.
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Top reviews from other countries
Raffaella Seligardi
Francona: The Red Sox Years (Inglese) Copertina rigida – 22 gen 2013 di Terry Francona (Autore), Dan Shaughnessy (Autore)
Reviewed in Italy on November 23, 2014Robert J Byrne
A must for all Sox fanatics
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2013
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One of the top managers in the field
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