Francona Meets The Two-Headed GM

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Terry Francona had his day at the Warehouse, and had his press conference afterwards.

10/28/2003 6:58 PM ET
Francona confident after interview
By Gary Washburn / MLB.com


BALTIMORE -- Losing 97 games in his final season as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies might have been a miserable experience for Terry Francona, but he believes it has prepared him for his next managerial job.
Francona, the Oakland A's bench coach, was the fifth candidate to interview for the Orioles' vacant manager position and first with no Oriole ties. Dressed in a royal blue suit, Francona addressed the media after spending time with the management duo of Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan on Tuesday.

Lack of Oriole affiliation is not the only thing that distinguishes Francona from the first four candidates -- Eddie Murray, Sam Perlozzo, Rich Dauer and Rick Dempsey. The former Major League outfielder is the lone one of the seven candidates with Major League managing experience.

"Like you can't believe," was Francona's response when asked how much his past experience has prepared him for the Orioles job. "We talked about that. Having a chance to do it, the people of Philadelphia may not want to hear this, but it's almost like having a mulligan. I had my chance to make my mistakes, to learn from them, to gain confidence, just like a player does."

Francona was 285-363 in four years with the Phillies before being dismissed after the 2000 season. The Philadelphia teams he managed were quite different from the one that competed for the National League Wild Card this season. Francona said he was asked to foster the Phillies' rebuilding plan. He oversaw the development of players such as Scott Rolen, Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu and Mike Lieberthal.

But after four losing seasons and an impatient fan base, he was fired. Since then, Francona has been with three organizations, special assistant with the Cleveland Indians and serving as bench coach with the Texas Rangers and A's the past two years.

"I learned way too much to be able to tell you right here," he said. "I feel prepared to not just be the manager but to be a leader here who can be successful and it was a nice feeling to come into an interview and feel confident."

Francona also has interviewed for the vacant job with the Chicago White Sox but is considered a long shot behind favorite Cito Gaston and former standout Ozzie Guillen. Francona, 44, is emerging as a popular candidate, having also been mentioned in the Boston search.

Beattie, and especially Flanagan, have talked about returning to the Oriole Way of building through the farm system and playing sound, fundamental baseball with established veterans. Francona said he is ready to adapt to that style and respects the club's tradition.

"I don't feel like I'm a loss because I didn't play for the Orioles," he said. "What I need to do if I'm the manager here, won't matter if I play for the Orioles or not. I understand there is some tremendous heritage here. I don't want to come here and change the whole organization."

When the A's were trying to lock down the American League West, they played the Orioles six times in late August and September. Francona got a good look at the Orioles roster after the trades of Sidney Ponson and Jeff Conine.

"I think this team was better last year than their record indicated, than people thought they were," he said. "I thought they had young people who were starting to get good. They have a lot of young people carrying the load."

As with the previous four candidates, Beattie and Flanagan ensured Francona the club plans to improve with free agent acquisitions and trades. It is apparent the team that takes the field April 5 against Boston will be drastically different than the one that finished the 2003 season under Mike Hargrove.

Francona wants to lead that charge.

"It sounds to me like they are trying to reload," he said. "I don't think they are as far away as other people think. I just think [my] experience is invaluable. If I didn't think I could make a difference, I wouldn't be here."

Notes: The club announced that Yankees first base coach Lee Mazzilli will interview Thursday. He will be the seventh candidate to interview and third with no Oriole ties.

Gary Washburn is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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Here's Joe Christiansen's (of the Bal'mer Sun) report from the Francona press conference:

'Mulligan' powers Francona's O's shot
Candidate says experience as Phils manager would be asset if given 2nd chance
By Joe Christensen
Sun Staff
Originally published October 29, 2003



The Philadelphia Phillies had four losing seasons when Terry Francona was their manager from 1997 to 2000, but he called the experience "invaluable" yesterday when he interviewed with the Orioles.

It will only make him better the next time, he said.

"Philadelphia may not want to hear this, but it's almost like having a mulligan," Francona said. "I had my chance to make my mistakes, to learn from them and to gain confidence, just like a player does."

Francona, 44, who spent last season as the Oakland Athletics' bench coach, was the fifth candidate to interview for the Orioles' managerial job. Earlier this month, they interviewed Eddie Murray, Sam Perlozzo, Rich Dauer and Rick Dempsey.

Today, they'll interview Tampa Bay Devil Rays third base coach Tom Foley, with New York Yankees first base coach Lee Mazzilli to follow tomorrow.

The Orioles considered interviewing Grady Little, who was fired Monday by the Boston Red Sox, but yesterday, an Orioles official said they had decided against it.

So of their seven interviewees, Francona is the only one with previous major league managing experience.

"I knew when I took the job in Philadelphia, they were looking for a young manager to grow with the club," Francona said. "I knew that going in, or they would have gotten Jim Leyland or someone else. I also know that I wish we would have had a better bullpen."

Francona was 38 when the Phillies hired him to be their manager. He had batted .274 in 11 seasons playing in the big leagues, including five years with the Montreal Expos.

The Phillies improved their record in Francona's first three years, going 68-94 and then 75-87 and 77-85. But in 2000, they finished with the worst record in the National League, at 65-97.

That July, they traded pitching ace Curt Schilling to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Travis Lee, Vincente Padilla, Nelson Figueroa and current Orioles pitcher Omar Daal.

The Phillies saw Francona as a good baseball man, but they wanted someone who would get in the face of their millionaire players. So they fired Francona and hired Larry Bowa. Two years later, they still haven't been back to the playoffs, even after signing Jim Thome and Kevin Millwood.

"Sometimes you need to make a change," Francona said. "I don't think [Phillies general manager] Ed Wade took any pleasure in firing me. I made a lot of close friends there. I went through a lot of times there. It's not a good city to not have a very good team.

"But it was a tremendous learning experience, and I think because of that, the next time I manage, I think I will be better and definitely more prepared to be successful. I feel very strongly about that."

Francona spent three hours talking with Orioles vice presidents Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan. He also interviewed for the Chicago White Sox managerial opening this month, and Red Sox officials have mentioned him as a potential candidate, as well.

"I've already been a manager; I don't want to manage for the wrong reasons," Francona said. "So if I wasn't interested in managing this ballclub, I would have politely and respectfully declined, and I actually have done that in the past."

Francona doesn't have the close ties to the Orioles that Murray, Perlozzo, Dauer and Dempsey have, but Francona's father, Tito, did play for the Orioles from 1956 to 1957.

Asked what he liked about the Orioles' opening, he said, "I think the history of the Orioles, first of all, is one that's very good and very long-standing.

"They've got some young players coming now," he added, "and they're going to go out and try to get a few players to make this club competitive again, and I don't think they're as far away as maybe other people think."


Copyright © 2003, The Baltimore Sun