Guardians manager Terry Francona records win No. 800 with Cleveland

Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal
·2 min read
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Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona walks to the mound to make a pitching change during the fifth inning of the team's baseball game against the Minnesota Twins in the second baseball game of a doubleheader, Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona walks to the mound to make a pitching change during the fifth inning of the team's baseball game against the Minnesota Twins in the second baseball game of a doubleheader, Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
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Terry Francona has reached a new milestone in his time with Cleveland.

Friday night's 8-2 win over the Chicago White Sox was Francona's 800th win with Cleveland, making him the first manager in franchise history to reach that plateau.

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Francona is credited with an 800-645 (.554 winning percentage) overall record as Cleveland's manager, which puts him first in overall wins and winning percentage among Cleveland managers with at least 1,000 games. Al Lopez (1951-1956, .617 winning percentage) and Ossie Vitt (1938-1940, .570 winning percentage) are the only managers with a better winning percentage.

Francona had his 2020 and 2021 seasons cut short due to health issues. Last year, he underwent multiple procedures (hip, toe/foot) in an effort to be healthy for the 2022 season. The win-loss record accrued during his absence was effectively put into escrow. Since Francona did return this spring, the wins were applied to his record and not to interim manager DeMarlo Hale's record.

Lou Boudreau (1942-1950, 728 wins) and Mike Hargrove (1991-1999, 721) are the only other Cleveland managers to reach 700 wins.

Francona holds an overall managerial record, including his time with Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland, of 1,829-1,560 (.540 winning percentage). Among managers with at least 2,000 games managed, Francona's .540 winning percentage is tied for 18th all time. His 1,829 total managerial wins rank 17th all time and are the third most among active managers behind Tony La Russa (2,867) and Dusty Baker (2,049).

Francona is the second-longest-tenured Cleveland manager or coach in the city's history behind only the Browns' Paul Brown (1946-62).

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Terry Francona becomes first Cleveland manager to reach 800 wins