Cleveland Indians: Ranking Terry Francona among the team’s best managers

Cleveland Indians fans are witnessing a great era of Indians baseball under the leadership of Terry Francona. Is he the best manager in team history?

It is no secret that the Cleveland Indians are in the midst of a painfully long title drought.

The team has not won the World Series since the 1948 season, but fans have still seen some great baseball since then.

The Indians have appeared in four World Series since winning it all in 1948, and are among the favorites to get back once again in 2018. The roster will feature some changes from the group that took the field in 2017, but Terry Francona remains the constant in all of this as the manager.

Francona will be without Mickey Callaway as his pitching coach, but that has not changed fans’ expectations one bit. The man known simply as Tito has come to Cleveland and won AL Manager of the Year honors twice in five seasons, taking his team to the postseason three times in that span.

Among managers in franchise history, Francona ranks second in postseason wins (12) and sixth in regular season wins (454).

All of his success the past five seasons brings up the question of where he ranks among the best managers in franchise history.

To answer that, let’s take a look at the top five managers in team history.

5. Al Lopez

Coming in at No. 5 is Al Lopez, who coached the Indians from 1951-1956.

His best season came in 1954 when his team won 111 games en route to capturing the AL pennant. Unfortunately, Willie Mays and the New York Giants won four straight over the Indians in the World Series.

Lopez remained in town for two more seasons after the World Series loss, but was unable to reach the postseason again. The team would not return to the postseason until 1995.

Lopez never won a postseason game with the Indians, given the fact the World Series was the only playoff series in 1954, but he does rank fourth in team history with 570 wins. His .617 winning percentage also ranks first in team history among those who coach in a full-time role.

Not winning a World Series or any postseason games may lead to Lopez’s name fading away as time goes on, but he oversaw the best regular season in team history back in 1954. Indians fans thought the team’s 102 wins in 2017 were special, but Lopez’s team won 111 in just 154 total games.

Lopez is in the Hall of Fame and belongs in the discussion of one of the best to oversee an Indians dugout.

4. Terry Francona

It is often hard to appreciate all-time greatness when it is happening in the present. However, there is no question that Terry Francona belongs in the discussion as one of the best managers in team history.

The Indians have won the World Series twice, making it to the Fall Classic six times. Francona has taken the team once, and was a game away from making himself arguably the greatest manager in Cleveland sports history.

But even without a title, Francona has done some great things in his five seasons. He already ranks sixth in team history with 454 wins, while his 12 postseason wins are second in team history.

Francona came to Cleveland and took a stagnant group to the postseason in his very first season. He has never had a losing season in town and has already won two division titles, with his team poised to win a third in 2018.

The pressure to win a World Series will continue to mount until his team can achieve that ultimate goal, but I still don’t see a scenario in which Francona is fired in the near future, given his team continues to reach the postseason. Winning it all is the goal, but we all know that postseason baseball is the most random tournament in professional sports.

The title talk will continue all year, but in terms of all-time greats, Francona is an easy choice. Hopefully he can continue to move up this list with more accomplishments in the coming years.

3. Tris Speaker

Tris Speaker guided the Indians to the first World Series title in franchise history, winning it all in 1920 against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Speaker did this as a player-manager. Can you imagine if Terry Francona served as a player-manager today?

The difference is that Speaker was in the prime of his career in 1920, guiding his team to a 98-56 record before defeating the Dodgers in what was a best-of-nine World Series.

Winning one of two World Series titles in team history puts Speaker high on this list, but he also ranks third in team history with 617 victories. His five postseason wins, all in the World Series, puts him third all-time.

The fact it has been nearly 100 years since the 1920 season means current fans may have no clue who Speaker is, but it is good to know the greats of the past. Speaker was an easy choice for the Hall of Fame, and finished his playing career with a .345 batting average and 3,514 hits. Add that to his numbers as a manager and that is a career worth celebrating.

Speaker was only able to reach the postseason once, but winning the World Series is what matters most and he made history by winning the first one for the Indians as both a player and a manager.

2. Mike Hargrove

Mike Hargrove is an easy choice as one of the best managers in Indians history, even when considering the fact he never won a World Series.

Hargrove ranks second in team history with 721 wins, while his 27 postseason wins put him in first by a large margin. Unfortunately, his 25 postseason losses are uncontested as well.

Hargrove took over an Indians team that had been a loser for decades and ended his tenure with five division titles and two World Series appearances. He was there when Jacobs Field became the go-to place in Cleveland and brought baseball fever back to the city.

Even though he couldn’t bring a title to Cleveland, it is hard to have anything but positive memories of Hargrove.

He continues to be cheered whenever he makes appearances at games, and his name will forever be associated with some of the best times to be an Indians fan.

Related Post: Top 10 wins from the 2017 season

Hargrove’s time in Cleveland came to an end after a brutal loss in the 1999 ALDS, ending what was a truly great run in franchise history. A change was made after so many heartbreaking endings, yet his firing didn’t change much for the team.

Like Francona, Hargrove is perhaps one game away from being considered the best of all time. But that title is held by another manager who holds the top marks in team history.