Before his 11 seasons in Cleveland, Francona endured ups and downs with Philadelphia and Boston.
Philadelphia had suffered three losing seasons after winning the National League pennant in 1993, and Francona took over a team with future Hall of Fame third baseman Scott Rolen and a lot of young players. From 1997 to 2000, the Phillies failed to finish higher than third in the NL East and never won more than 77 games.
Francona was fired following the 2000 campaign with a 285–363 record. The next year he worked with Cleveland’s front office as a special assistant to general manager John Hart, allowing him to gain experience and background with the front office side of the game. However Francona guided the club in one of baseball’s greatest comebacks ever, rallying to become the only team to advance after facing an 0-3 deficit. Boston won Game 7 and went on to sweep St. Louis in the Fall Classic for the city’s first World Series title since 1918.
Boston was swept by the eventual champion White Sox in the first round in 2005, and finished third in the AL East in 2006, but Francona’s club bounced back in 2007, rallying from a 3-1 deficit in the ALCS against Cleveland to again reach the World Series.
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