CLEVELAND (AP) — Terry Francona could have used his old scooter to get around the renovated service area beneath Progressive Field.
Instead, Francona made do with walking and joked about the changes that have occurred at the ballpark he called home for 11 seasons.
Francona returned to Cleveland for the first time since being named Cincinnati’s manager as the Reds opened a three-game series against the Guardians on Monday.
“I got lost about three times. That’s the longest (clubhouse) hallway I’ve ever seen,” Francona said. “I don’t think I’ve seen the whole thing yet just because I don’t feel like icing down my knees. But from what I’ve seen in the ballpark, it looks good.”
Francona — who used to ride a scooter from his downtown apartment to the ballpark — isn’t the only visitor who has joked about the long tunnel from the clubhouse to the dugout on the first-base side. Both clubhouses were renovated during the offseason, more than tripling their size.
The 66-year-old manager enters the series unbeaten against his former team: The Reds swept a three-game series at Cincinnati last month.
Francona was at the helm in Cleveland for 11 seasons and is the franchise’s leader in wins (921) and games managed (1,678). Cleveland made the playoffs six times under Francona and lost the 2016 World Series to the Chicago Cubs in seven games, falling just short of the franchise’s first title since 1948.
He was a senior advisor for the Guardians last year, but only made a couple of trips to Cleveland. He didn’t want to get in the way of manager Stephen Vogt and his coaching staff.
“There were a couple times during spring, two hours away I wanted to come up, but I didn’t think it was right,” Francona said. “I just thought for the new staff here, they needed to be able to do things. They don’t need me telling ’em how to do it or acting like I’m going to tell ’em how to do it.”
“During the season I watched a lot of baseball, probably more than I have in a long, long time. I’d turn on games that were in the eighth inning tied and I’d watch the end of it and flip to another game and really enjoyed it.”
While Francona was happy to be back in Cleveland, his focus was on trying to help the Reds extend their winning streak to four games after a weekend sweep of Arizona.
“I had 11 really fun years here and I had some great relationships. That never changes, but now we’re trying to figure out a way to beat ’em tonight. That’s why we’re here. That’ll never take away how I feel about people here,” he said.
Francona was among several Reds staffers making their return. Bench coach Brad Mills and hitting coach Chris Valaika were on Francona’s Cleveland staff, while first-base coach Collin Cowgill and major league coach Mike Napoli played for the franchise.
Reds left fielder Will Benson, who hit four home runs during the sweep of the Guardians, was Cleveland’s first-round pick in 2016.
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