Terry Francona isn’t the self-indulgent type, and he’s not one to insert himself into the center of baseball matters. To that end, the first-year Cincinnati Reds manager had a decision to make on Feb. 18, the opening day of Cactus League play in spring training: Stay back in Goodyear, Arizona, and preside over the split-squad Reds against the Cleveland Guardians, the club he used to manage, or head to Maryvale, a few towns over. The other half of the Reds roster would play the Milwaukee Brewers there. Francona chose the unglamorous bus trip to Maryvale − a decision that would keep the day’s focus on his players, as well as Cleveland’s focus on their’s. The time for reminiscing about his former employer would come soon enough. This weekend, Francona was finally confronted with games against the Guardians where he couldn’t avoid his connection between the two franchises. On Friday, Francona still didn’t put himself at the center of the Reds-Guardians series, but he embraced playful conversation regarding his personal history in Cleveland, where he managed for 11 seasons, enjoyed a .549 winning percentage and claimed an American League pennant in 2016. “You know, this will be the first time I root against them,” Francona said. “For the longest time, man, even last year. I always rooted for ’em. Not this weekend. Lot of guys I love over there but I hope we beat them. “I had 11 of the best years of my life there. Love the people there.”

Francona still has his fingerprints on the current-day Guardians, including staying out of the way of his replacement, 2024 AL Manager of the Year, Stephen Vogt. On paper, Francona was still a special adviser in the Guardians organization. He wanted to make the trip from his home in Tucson, Arizona, to Goodyear and check in on his former players. Francona later decided against doing so, saying on Friday: “I didn’t think that was fair to anybody. To anybody. So, I stayed away. I thought it was the right thing to do.” In a February interview with The Enquirer, Vogt praised Francona for aiding in his transition into Cleveland’s managerial role. Francona still knows his former players well. He heaped praise on Friday’s starter, Tanner Bibee. Asked how he’d handle pitching to Cleveland slugger Jose Ramirez in a late-game situation, Francona, smiling, said he simply hoped it wouldn’t come up. The Vogt-led Guardians offer an interesting benchmark for the Reds and observers to compare themselves against. The annual meetings between the two clubs, branded as the “Ohio Cup,” has been won or retained via season-series tie for 10 consecutive seasons by the Guardians. It’s only May, but the Guardians (25-18) are also positioned well in the AL playoff picture with the hot summer months approaching.

Other than the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the Reds haven’t tasted postseason baseball since 2013. Meanwhile, the Guardians are coming off advancing to last season’s AL Championship Series. And Cleveland’s run in last year’s postseason, as well as several of Francona’s years with the Guardians, served as proof-positive that Ohio’s smaller-market clubs can compete on MLB’s biggest stages. Standing at 21-24 entering play Friday, May 16, Cincinnati was just looking to stabilize in the midst of losing nine of 12 games. “We’re 40-(something games) − we’re a lot into the season, and we want to win bad,” Francona. “That’s kind of what I think… I love seeing them, but we want to win.” So, while his fondness for Cleveland prevails, Francona is focused on the task at-hand. And true to form, he brought his comments regarding his Cleveland affections back around to his affection and professional responsibilities for the Reds. “I’m here (in Cincinnati) now and I’m supposed to be as good a manager as I can be,” Francona said. “I want our guys to − but that doesn’t take away any of my feelings for the guys over there.”