As the 2012 regular season came to a merciless close, the Indians were in disarray.
They had just finished a disaster of a 68-win season and a week earlier had fired manager Manny Acta. It was their third 90-plus loss season in the past four.
Top prospect and hope for the future Matt LaPorta, the centerpiece of the CC Sabathia trade, had flamed out, never to again reach the majors. Roberto Hernandez, the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona, had lost the success he had found earlier in his career. And on and on.
Three days after the Indians hobbled to the conclusion of that season, they hired Terry Francona away from a short stint on ESPN to be their next manager. The Indians haven't had a losing season since, came within one run of winning the World Series and are now entering the 2017 postseason among the favorites to win it all.
Of course, that isn't to say a manager is the lone reason for that success. Far from it. The Indians have developed their prospects, acutely signed their core in-house players to club-friendly and market-friendly long-term deals and recently, owner Paul Dolan has brought out his checkbook to supplement the roster with higher-priced free agents and expensive trade targets. All of it has come together to mold the Indians' success. All of it has been vital.
But at the epicenter of the fluid ecosystem that is a baseball clubhouse housing a team that finds and then holds on to success has been Francona.
Francona has his principals, views and mantras, like any manager. He isn't a big fan of routinely holding the big team meeting, unless he thinks a specific message will do the club good. Otherwise, he won't yell just to make himself feel better. In fact, he won't do anything if it can't be turned into something the Indians can use to their advantage — if it doesn't help, throw it out.
He doesn't like to talk about himself, and he absolutely will not judge other managers on their decisions or abilities. Even when he required a heart procedure, which forced his exit from the team and prevented him from managing the All-Star Game, Francona still didn't want to talk about it much, mostly saying he was just embarrassed he had to go through it. To the end, he'll brag about his players and change the subject when it turns to him.
He's also widely viewed as one of the biggest player's managers, one who will defend his guys to a fault. Managers are prime suspects to be second-guessed with every pitching change and lineup card they fill out, but few managers would be second-guessed less than Francona, who boasts a strong resume already. But none of those things are what the players inside the Indians' clubhouse view as his biggest strength.
That's his ability to relate with people. It's something that can't be quantified with numbers, of course. But to a man, that's what has stood out.
"It's the fluidity of how he handles things and the way he gets the best out of players, and how he respects players, understands them and how he speaks the players' language," said Josh Tomlin, who plays cribbage in Francona's office nearly every day. "He's just got that feel for what players think and how to manage and how to push the right buttons and what to say to get the best out of them."
Francona came to Cleveland already with a Hall of Fame resume with the two World Series rings he won in Boston, ending the Curse of the Bambino there. He's now a two-time American League Manager of the Year, and guiding the depleted Indians to within one game of winning it all a year ago was universally praised. After all, the Indians somehow won an ALCS game in Toronto with a bullpen game after Trevor Bauer and his bloody pinkie had to exit in the first inning.
When he first took over in Cleveland, he brought with him a sense of "awe," as Cody Allen put it. He wasn't an up-start manager — he had already found success. But none of the clout from his resume came with him to Cleveland, something that quickly became apparent.
"Once you meet him, he's instantly humanizes himself," Allen said. "You're like, 'Holy cow, this guy's going to be in Cooperstown but he's the most down-to-earth guy you'll ever meet. That's definitely part of it. ... One thing I've always said is that if he's an expert in anything, it's people. It's not baseball. He's great at all those things, but the reason he's such a great manager is because he knows people and knows how to get the most out of everyone."
Allen added that that's especially true for younger players. Francona's message to rookies is to ensure that you prove to your teammates that you care about winning above everything else. He also gives rookies freedom to find their own path, within those boundaries, something that's appreciated by the likes of Francisco Lindor and others.
"The first thing he told me was, 'Be yourself and show your teammates you want to win.' If you do that, I guarantee you'll win the clubhouse and win the respect of every guy on the team,' " Lindor said. "He lets you make mistakes and he lets you have fun. If we aren't having fun, if he's not, then that's not him."
The door to Francona's office is essentially always open to players, one way that helps the communication between the manager's office and clubhouse remain strong. Much of that takes place over a cribbage board or a game of cards. Last year, Tomlin, Michael Brantley and others downloaded a cribbage app to learn the game before taking on Francona. He now takes part in daily matches, but it's about more than the cribbage.
"He allows guys to come in, play cards, have a conversation, shoot the bull," Tomlin said. "Once you understand the type of career he's had as a manager, it's pretty unbelievable. Whenever he invites you in there to play cards or just to have a conversation, you listen. And you know he loves being part of it, part of baseball, part of the Indians.
"You understand he's just one of us, he's just had more time in the game."
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