CINCINNATI -- Leading his new club to the postseason in his first season has become Terry Francona's thing. He did it with Boston in 2004 and with Cleveland in ‘13.
And in 2025, Francona did it once again with Cincinnati. After guiding the Reds to 83 wins and a National League Wild Card berth, he was named a finalist for NL Manager of the Year.
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America, which determines the Manager of the Year Award, also voted the Brewers' Pat Murphy and the Phillies' Rob Thomson in the top three with Francona to make them fellow finalists.
“It always feels like the first time," Francona said after the Reds clinched their playoff spot on Sept. 28. "Watching these guys have fun, that’s worth every agonizing minute we had all year. It’s unbridled joy. Doesn’t matter what language you speak, what country you’re from; they’re hugging each other, and it’s real. It’s worth all the heartaches and everything we did. Just for those couple of minutes.”
Francona, who came out of retirement in October 2024 after one year off to replace David Bell, became the fifth manager in Reds history to lead the club to the postseason in his first season. He joined Lou Piniella (1990), John McNamara (‘79), Sparky Anderson (‘70) and Patrick Moran (‘19).
For the 66-year-old Francona, it was the 12th time in 24 seasons that his team reached the playoffs. He also is the 13th manager in Major League history to lead three or more teams to the postseason.
With the Reds’ victory over the Rockies on July 13, Francona earned his milestone 2,000th win as a Major League manager. He is 12th on the all-time managerial wins list with 2,033, leading all active managers.
Francona navigated his players through multiple highs and lows. While the Reds finished the 2025 regular season 83-79 after winning 77 games in ‘24, they were only swept in a series twice and not for the first time until Aug. 25-27, at the Dodgers.
On Aug. 19, the club was a season-high seven games over .500 at 67-60 before enduring a 7-15 stretch over its next 22 games. As late as Sept. 5, the Reds trailed the Mets and the Padres for the final NL Wild Card spot by six games, while also being behind two other teams.
After being swept by the Athletics from Sept. 12-14 to drop one game under .500 at 74-75, the Reds won nine of their final 13 games to pull even with the Mets. On the final day of the season, they clinched a playoff spot on a tiebreaker advantage, having won the season series over New York, 4-2.
Although there was some veteran presence in the clubhouse, the Reds’ roster largely consisted of homegrown players with no postseason experience. Cincinnati's last trip to the playoffs was in 2020, following a pandemic-shortened 60-game season. Its last full-season playoff berth came in 2013.
“I think it’s huge from the sense of a calming voice, a calming presence in the dugout," veteran catcher Jose Trevino said of Francona in late September. "You can look down the dugout when stuff is going good or stuff is going bad -- whatever it is, he’s calm. It’s almost like he trusts us more than anything. He understands the game, and he understands us as players. For him to have that calming presence and that ability to keep everybody else level, it’s priceless.”
The BBWAA will announce the NL Manager of the Year winner on MLB Network at 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 11.