Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon

One-time Cub Terry Francona recalled his 'summer in Chicago' as a mostly rough affair

We now take a break from the Terry Francona-Theo Epstein Red Sox storyline that is somewhat dominating World Series coverage so far and shift the focus, briefly, to another kind of cool storyline: Francona is one of a small handful of players in history to play for both teams involved in the current Fall Classic.
Well, check that: it's a cool storyline for everyone except maybe Francona, who, in typical Tito deadpan fashion, said all this means is that "I wasn't very good because I kept getting let go."
He has a point. Francona played in 86 games for the Cubs in 1986:

The next season, he played in 102 games for the Reds. The year after, 62 games with the Indians. And a year later, he played in 90 games for the Brewers.

Asked what stood out for him, if anything, about his year with the Cubs, Francona wasn't exactly teary-eyed recalling his time on the North Side.
"I lived out in Northbrook and my slot to hit every morning was from 10:10 to 10:25, Chris Speier and I," Francona said. "I would fight the traffic in, so I had to leave at like 7.I'd usually pinch-hit about quarter to six. There would be shadows, I'd make an out. And then I'd fight the traffic home. That was my summer in Chicago."
Despite his less-than-romantic description of his season with the Cubs, he did hit a game-tying homer that resulted in a call by Cubs legend Harry Caray, so it wasn't all bad:

BarberJordan
beephero
AP_702417634020
NYC