Cleveland Guardians: Terry Francona's eventful offseason

It has been a wild few months for Cleveland Guardians skipper Terry Francona. First, he was named the 2022 AL Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America, his third such award. Then, earlier this month Francona was named “the most handsome manager” in the American League by renowned beauty experts Gambling.com. And then most recently, reports surfaced that his scooter was stolen from outside of his downtown apartment building late last week.

Francona was in town over the weekend to attend the Guardians' rebranded Guards Fest, formerly known as Tribe Fest. So it stands to reason that the scooter may have been in use while Tito spent time in town. Luckily, police ultimately located the scooter and returned it to its owner.

Over the weekend, Tito was in good spirts. He even joked with reporters when asked about his "most handsome manager" award, telling them that he has some upcoming modeling gigs. All joking aside, Francona did also indicate that he was feeling the best he has in a while and is finally able to enjoy a healthy offseason.

In addition, Guardians owner Paul Dolan shed light on Francona's unique contract situation. The manager, about to enter his eleventh season with the franchise, saw his contract expire following the conclusion of the past season. But fear not! President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti described the new current contract as such:

"“It’s not a five-year deal, but if Tito wants to be here five years, and he’s healthy enough, and it fits into his life well enough, we’d love for him to be here for five years.”"

Cleveland.com

Here's to hoping that Francona is around for another decade plus. He's already a Hall of Fame manager, but he could become one of the top managers in all of baseball history. Plus, this team simply reaches another level with him at the helm, something I shudder to think about should he ever decide to leave.