No new captain has had a winning record in Cincinnati in the last… 30 years? Terry Francona will soon confront the daunting job of changing the Cincinnati Reds from fourth-place finishers to contenders. He’s met the challenge previously, leading Cleveland from a 94-loss season to a postseason trip in his first year in charge. However, Cincinnati may be a different scenario, as Francona faces the weight of Reds tradition.
The majority of managerial changes in Cincinnati are due to bad performance rather than managers moving up the MLB ladder. As a result, the new captain inherits an unsuccessful squad and has limited time to turn the ship. As a result, a first-year manager doesn’t have a winning record with the Reds.
in 30 years. Terry Francona hopes to break the cycle of bad luck for first-year Reds managers.
The Reds last had a successful season under a first-year manager in 1994, which was curtailed due to a strike. Davey Johnson, who had actually taken over as temporary manager in 1993, led the team to a 66-48-1 record when the season was canceled in August. (For what it’s worth, Ray Knight led the 1996 club to an even 81-81 record, but.500 is not a winning record in our opinion.)
The Reds last advanced to the postseason under a first-year manager in 1990, when Lou Piniella led the team to a World Series championship. Despite playing.500 basketball during the season’s final
100 games, the 1990 Reds rode a red-hot start to domination in the National League West. If Francona hopes to replicate Johnson and Piniella’s comeback seasons, he will need to rely on the front office. Johnson, for example, benefited by the Reds acquiring Bret Boone through a trade prior to the 1994 season. The second baseman thrived in his first full season in the majors and built a formidable middle infield with Barry Larkin for five years. In 1990, the Reds signed reliever Randy Myers, and Lou Piniella assembled an impressive bullpen with returning Reds Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton. In the World Series, this trio pitched 8 ⅔ scoreless innings, allowing only six hits.
Francona has previously profited from this technique of team development. When Francona joined. Cleveland’s general manager, Chris Antonetti, explored the free agent market and signed Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn, and Ryan Raburn. He also traded for Yan Gomes. This trio thrived under Francona’s supervision, combining for 12.6 WAR despite Gomes and Raburn serving in platoon roles. Now is the moment for the Reds’ front office to back their new manager. If Francona’s first season in Cincinnati fails, all of the goodwill generated by his signing will be for naught.
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