Terry ‘Tito’ Francona is a two-time World Series champion as a manager, there isn’t much left for him to prove. Yet this past winter the former Arizona Wildcats great decided he wasn’t ready for retirement, returning to the dugout to coach the Cincinnati Reds.
And halfway through his first season back on the bench he’s hit a milestone.
Cincinnati’s 4-2 win over Colorado on Sunday afternoon gave the 66-year-old Francona 2,000 wins, becoming only the 13th manager in MLB history to reach that mark.
TITO 2K
Congrats to Terry Francona on becoming the 13th Manager in MLB history to reach 2,000 wins! pic.twitter.com/LQwea3YyGs
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 13, 2025
Francona is 2,000-1,719 in 24 seasons as a manager, a career that began in 1997 with the Philadelphia Phillies. He established himself as one of the top coaches in MLB while with the Boston Red Sox, winning World Series titles in 2004 and 2007 with the first one ending that franchise’s 86-year championship drought.
From 2013-23 Francona managed the Cleveland Indians/Guardians, winning at least 90 games six times and reaching the World Series in 2016 when the Chicago Cubs ended their World Series drought. Health issues caused Francona to miss time late in his Cleveland tenure and ultimately contributed to his retirement after the 2023 season, but last October he signed a 3-year deal to coach Cincinnati.
His Reds team is 50-47 heading into the All-Star break and is 3.5 games out of the Wild Card race in the National League.
At 2,000 wins, Francona trails only Texas’ Bruce Bochy (2,218) among active managers in wins. He can get to 11th place by the end of this season, passing Leo Durocher (2,008) and Walter Alston (2,040).
A member of the UA’s 1980 national championship team, Francona won the Golden Spikes Award that season as college baseball’s best player. He was a first round pick of the Montreal Expos in 1980 and played 10 seasons in the majors with five different teams.