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Francona  By  cover art

Francona

By: Terry Francona, Dan Shaughnessy
Narrated by: Jeff Gurner
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Publisher's summary

From famed baseball manager Terry Francona, a lively, unvarnished narrative of his tenure with the storied Boston Red Sox

From 2004 to 2011, Terry "Tito" Francona managed the Boston Red Sox, the most talked about, scrutinized team in all of sports. In Francona the legendary manager opens up for the first time about his eight years there, as they went from cursed franchise to one of the most successful and profitable in baseball history. He takes readers inside the rarefied world of a 21st-century clubhouse, from 2004 when they won their first championship in 86 years, through another win in 2007, to the controversial September collapse just four years later. He recounts the tightrope walk of managing personalities like Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez, working with Theo Epstein and his statistics-driven executives, balancing their data with the emotions of a 25-man roster, and meeting the expectations of three owners with often wildly differing opinions. Along the way listeners are treated with back-slapping, never-before-told stories about their favorite players, moments, losses, and wins.

Those eight years were a wild, unforgettable ride, and now the fascinating full story can be told in an audiobook that examines like no other the art of managing in today's game.

©2013 Terry Francona and Dan Shaughnessy (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Narrator Jeff Gurner offers a steady hand throughout a collaboration that has no dull moments…Red Sox fans will enjoy the stories behind some of their team's greatest years. Cleveland Indians fans will love the wonderful insights into their first-year manager. And Gurner's narration will help draw in any person interested in what a manager endures – on and off the field.” —AudioFile Magazine

“Even baseball fans who loathe the Boston Red Sox will find it tough to root against former manager Francona… [Gurner's] reading keeps the narrative moving forward, and Francona's story is compelling. All in all, a solid effort that should generate strong demand from baseball fans.” —Booklist

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What listeners say about Francona

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing Book.....A Must Read For Red Sox Fans

I loved this book. Terry Francona gives you an insight into the Red Sox like no other book before. Amazing what goes on behind the scenes. Absolutely Perfect

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Fun, Incestuous, Listen

Any additional comments?

Very well written and narrated. The audio book moves quickly and is gossipy and fun. But in the end, it's basically a love story between Franconer and Theo. The two of them essentially do no wrong, but we fans realize it's a little more complicated than that. They did have a great run together though, and this book is essentially a celebration of that. Obviously, it will be of most interest to Sox fans like myself, but I recommend it to other fans of the game as well.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

I enjoyed it a lot,

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I thought it was interesting. I liked the details of working for such a high profile team.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character was Terry Francona.

Have you listened to any of Jeff Gurner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I haven't.

Any additional comments?

Even for a more casual baseball fan, this is really good.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fly on the clubhouse wall

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. Any Sox fan who has felt a little like George Steinbrenner or Bill Veeck has been running things at Fenway for the past few years without quite being able to put their finger on why they have that feeling will find a lot of clarity in this behind-the-scenes look at the ballclub from a manager's-eye-view. Things you may have noticed, without quite making sense of, all add up here. I expected a bit of sour grapes, but Tito's criticisms of the organization all fit with the more-than-casual fan's experiences of the Red Sox over the past decade or so, and he invariably qualifies them with the acknowledgement that the front office and the manager's office have different agendas because they serve different purposes for the organization.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Francona, somewhat obviously. It's good to hear that some of his more seemingly boneheaded decisions were in view of the bigger picture. While it sucks to spend money to go to Fenway on a day the team rolls over, Tito explains why sometimes that's still the best call for the team and the organization.

Have you listened to any of Jeff Gurner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not sure if I've heard anything else of his, but the occasional mispronunciations of names - it's "Bill Miller," not "Bill Mueller," regardlesss of spelling - exposes him as someone who doesn't follow the team. Distracting? Not terribly. Could they have found ONE narrator who knows the player names for the Boston Red Sox? I'd imagine so.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Funny in spots, sure. Crying....uhh, no.

Any additional comments?

This is, overall, probably the most addictive audiobook I've gotten in the past year. If you've been a Sox fan, especially if you've been around for the entire career arc of Francona at Four Yawkey Way, give it a listen. You'll be surprised at how many of these games you personally remember, and at Tito's commentary on those games and the circumstances in which they were played. A really nice fly-on-the-clubhouse-wall book that tempts a lifelong Boston fan to root for the Indians in 2013....especially once you learn about what a nutroll the ownership group for the Red Sox is.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Great Baseball Story

What made the experience of listening to Francona the most enjoyable?

Francona is a family story, about the Francona family, and his baseball family the Boston Red Sox.

What did you like best about this story?

The warmth, honesty and intensity expressed by Terry Francona.

Have you listened to any of Jeff Gurner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A Bronx Tale in Fenway Park.

Like the DeNiro Film, Francona is a baseball purist who has to function in a world run by CEO's, GM's and statistical gurus who try to compromise his belief in the players and the sport.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good Sports Book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you are a Red Sox or just a baseball fan then it will be very entertaining

Which character – as performed by Jeff Gurner – was your favorite?

Tito was the character best performed

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wish I had the time to listen to this in all one sitting. It would be worth the time.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

TAKE OUT THE BREATHS!

What made the experience of listening to Francona the most enjoyable?

Wish I could talk about the book itself but I need to get the message out. Breaths every 5 seconds in this book. It's beyond irritating. Please fix this for future listeners!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Thanks Tito

Top shelf Tito. I find it hard to believe the Red Sox Owners didn’t spread personal information about your health issues. Shame on them.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great read!

I’m a big BoSox fan and enjoyed the Terry Francona era. Kinda disgusted with the ownership group after this read... I’ll cheer for him we’re ever he goes...

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Lifelong Red Sox Fan found book drone on at times

I hav been a life long Red Sox fan and bought this but ok on Kindl but never found time to read it. I loved the Francona Red Sox years and hearing about the Red Sox from Francona's viewpoint was interesting.

Unfortunately, I had troubles listening to all the stories as the narrator came out monotoned at t a and found I would miss out paying attention to the narration. I had to restart Chapters more than once and that made the book less appealing.

I enjoyed it overall and look forward to reading it sometime in the future and hopefully find out what I missed and get more from the book than the narrator gave me.

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