Terry Francona garners a lot of respect and admiration across the baseball industry, especially with the players he coaches. The Reds might have taken that admiration to another level this season.
Catcher Tyler Stephenson gifted his manager some custom swimwear with a young Francona’s face on it in the Reds' clubhouse during their opening homestand.
“It took me like a day or two to think about how I wanted to do it,” Stephenson said. “I put it on one day and was going to go into Tito’s office, but he wasn’t in there. He was in the coaches' room, which was even better.”
Francona’s reaction to seeing the swimwear was priceless.
“I just about had a heart attack,” Francona said after seeing his face on the swimwear.
The Reds’ skipper said he has it hanging in his office as a souvenir, but Francona doesn’t expect to be wearing it outdoors anytime soon. Francona did, however, pose for a picture holding up his new gift while wearing his usual baseball attire.
