StatManDu Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 (edited) Boston Red Sox skipper Terry Francona cut his managerial teeth in the White Sox organization. After being his career as the hitting instructor at the Sox Rookie League team in 1991, Francona led the Sox Class-A affiliate in South Bend in 1992 and then led the franchise's Double-A Birmingham club from 1993 to 1995. Francona's experience in Birmingham certainly prepped him for the craziness that would accompany a Major League job, particulalry in a big-market baseball nuts market like Boston. In 1994, Francona was the Barons bench boss when Michael Jordan manned the outfield for the team and created a circus every single day of the team played. Among the players he managed in the Sox chain were Mike Cameron (South Bend 1992, Birmingham 1995), Olmedo Saenz (South Bend 1992, Birmingham 1993), James Baldwin (South Bend 1992, Birmingham 1993), Mike Bertotti (South Bend 1992, Birmingham 1994), Al Levine (South Bend 1992, Birmingham 1994), Luis Andujar (Birmingham 1993), Ron Coomer (Birmingham 1993), Ray Durham (Birmingham 1993), Brian Keyser (Birmingham 1993), Scott Ruffcorn (Birmingham 1994, 1995), Matt Karchner (Birmingham 1994), Chris Snopek (Birmingham 1994), Jeff Abbott (Birmingham 1995), Greg Norton (Birmingham 1995), Pete Rose (Birmingham 1995), Mike Sirotka (Birmingham 1995). Francona's 1993 team won the Southern League championship and earned Francona the circuit's manager of the year award from Baseball America. Edited October 22, 2007 by StatManDu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Yep. I watched him when he was manager in South Bend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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