The Cleveland Indians needed a major reset following the 2012 season.
The Manny Acta era was a huge failure, and the team wanted to act fast.
Only a few days into October, Terry Francona was hired as the new skipper.
Success has followed and Indians fans have still not seen the team finish with a losing record since he arrived in town.
Today we want to look at his best three seasons so far during his Indians tenure.
While the top one may be obvious, a trip down memory lane is still fun.
Terry Francona has been ejected for the first time this season. Crowd was chanting "Tito" as he walked off the field.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) July 10, 2021
3. 2013 Season
Francona showed up after a year away from managing and proceeded to lead his new team to the postseason for the first time since 2007.
The Indians finished 92-70, good enough to qualify for the one-game Wild Card playoff.
Unfortunately, the Indians failed to score in a 4-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
But anyone who attended that game still had a fun time.
This writer would know.
The 2013 turnaround proved the team was now in good hands after a painful period of losing with Acta at the helm.
It was certainly a sign of good things to come.
2. 2017 Season
2017 was supposed to be all about redemption.
The Indians nearly reached the mountaintop a year prior and appeared to be even stronger in 2017.
A 102-60 record was good enough for a second straight division title and the year included the unforgettable 22-game win streak.
That streak ended up being better than what would come in October.
The Indians took a 2-0 series lead over the New York Yankees in the ALDS, only to lose three straight and be eliminated.
Francona’s club has not won a postseason game since.
But it is hard to forget just how special the 2017 season was and that winning streak may be something fans never see again in this lifetime.
1. 2016 Season
.@a_miller48 intros your 2016 AL Manager of the Year, Terry Francona, in NYC tonight. pic.twitter.com/AP4QcqQEY6
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) January 22, 2017
Hopefully, no one is surprised by this choice.
2016 was the year of miracles as the Indians won the division and marched all the way to the World Series.
A 3-1 lead was held and, well, we can forget about what happened next.
However, no one will forget the Rajai Davis home run that shocked the world.
2016 had a terrible ending, but still remains a year that brings back so much nostalgia.
The Cavaliers had just won their title and the city was electric.
As long as we pretend the Browns didn’t exist that year, Cleveland was the center of the sports universe.
The team just ran out of gas at the end and lost to a talented Chicago Cubs squad that ended its own historical title drought.
Francona has taken rosters that aren’t the best in the league and gotten the most out of them nearly on an annual basis.
Getting the 2021 squad to the postseason would arguably be his best feat yet.
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