“That was a highlight,” Francona said. “It’s unbelievable. For something that is so televised, they keep the kids off limits. That’s good. They let them be kids. They’ve got a swimming pool and an area where you can’t get to them. It’s good.”
Francona, like any manager or head coach in any sport, gets asked to give advice to young athletes. He has a few points that he stresses.
“I always tell them that being the best teammate is the best compliment you could give,” Francona said. “Not the best player.”
He also stresses the importance of letting kids play multiple sports.
“Being well-rounded is good,” Francona said. “Kids nowadays play one sport all year. By the time they get to be 18, they hate it. They get a ton of life lessons playing sports.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Francona also played basketball and golf. He wanted to play football, but his father wouldn’t let him.
“Everybody in western Pennsylvania plays football,” Francona said. “I brought the (waiver) to get your physical home. My dad was sitting there. He goes, ‘Son, are you crazy?’”
So Francona played golf.
“(Dad) was right,” Francona said. “But when you’re that age, with the peer pressure…”
It all worked out for Francona, who became a baseball star.
“We had a basement that was long,” Francona said. “I would throw downstairs all winter. We had a cinderblock wall. After my mom died, I went back to help my dad clean up the house. Downstairs, there was a mark where the ball had hit for years. There was a lead bat down there. (I threw) every day. It ended up being good.”
While he didn’t play football, he was still a big Steelers fan. When Francona was a teenager, the Steelers won four Super Bowls with stars like coach Chuck Noll, nose tackle Joe Greene, quarterback Terry Bradshaw, wide receiver Lynn Swan and running back Franco Harris.
“My mom would get me to go to church,” Francona said. “She promised she’d make Hors d’Oeuvres for the Steelers game if I went to church.”
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