CINCINNATI (AP) — The friendly feud between Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona and Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash, which dates to at least 2015, continued during batting practice on Friday when the scoreboard at Great American Ball Park showed a looped video of Cash, playing for the Boston Red Sox, striking out against Yankees right-hander A.J. Burnett in 2010.
Francona said finding a clip of Cash striking out wasn’t difficult.
“You could have got that clip off most pitchers,” Francona said. “I’m still trying to figure out why I played him against A.J. Burnett. That was more on me than him.”
Light-hearted jabs and creative pranks have gone on for years between the two managers who have a combined 2,876 wins going into Saturday’s matchup, with 2,004 of those victories belonging to Francona. The Reds are facing the Rays for the first time since Francona was hired as manager in October.
“I’ve taken my share of jabs, too,” Cash said, after seeing the video clip. “But mine are private.”
Their close relationship began when Cash, a catcher, played for Francona in Boston in 2007 and 2008. He was later on Francona’s staff in Cleveland in 2013 and 2014.
“The relationship grew (with) how he helped me along the way, in the early stages of the interview processes with different clubs,” Cash said.
Francona said Friday that he always believed Tampa Bay was the right place for Cash who owns an 872-750 record in 11 seasons with the Rays, adding that he had the qualities to be a successful skipper.
“He hit like a manager,” Francona said.
It’s not the first time Francona has used a scoreboard to prank Cash. During the Rays’ visit to Progressive Field in 2017, a scoreboard message asked, “How bad is Kevin Cash at the plate?” then showed Cash’s career statistics including his .183 batting average.
All in good fun, they say.
“Certainly to this day, he’s probably the first person I’m going to call outside of someone inside the (Tampa Bay) organization for guidance and advice,” Cash said.
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