Indians Name Francona as Manager

(Image credit: MGN)

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians have chosen Terry Francona to be the team’s newest manager. He was officially introduced by the Tribe at an 11 a.m. news conference Monday.

The following is the official statement released by the ball club:

“The Cleveland Indians have named Terry Francona as the 42nd manager in franchise history. The club will make a formal announcement on Monday morning at Progressive Field, but no further details or comments will be made available until that time out of respect for MLB protocol involving announcements during the Postseason.”

Francona interviewed for the position all day on Friday, just one day after Sandy Alomar Jr. interviewed for the same position.  Alomar served as interim manager for the final six-games of the Indians season going 3-3.

Francona currently serves as a baseball analyst for ESPN after being fired as manager of the Boston Red Sox. He became the Red Sox manager in 2004 and led Boston to a World Series title, it’s first since 1918. He followed that up with another title in 2007.

Francona has his own connections to the Indians, his father played for the Tribe from 1959-1964 and worked in the club’s front office in 2001.

The Tribe fired Manny Acta with six games left in the season after the team went from first place to the bottom of the Central Division in the American League.

*Click here for Manny Acta’s reaction to the firing

Stay with Fox 8 News as more updates become available.