Francona: The Red Sox Years

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

My favorite character was Terry Francona.

No, I haven't.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

This book is especially interesting to Red Sox Fans, but others interested in baseball can observe the inner workings of a team.

Francona, struggled not only with the players and management, but with his own shortcomings and health issues.

Actually, Jeff pronounced some of the names wrong.

no

Worth the read if you like baseball, and especially if you are a New Englander.

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

The warmth, honesty and intensity expressed by Terry Francona.

No

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.

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

Tito was the character best performed

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

if you're a sox fan and/or love good baseball stories, you have to read this. Not surprisingly, Francona is very respectful. Says very few bad things about players and is pretty tame when it comes to Sox ownership. But mostly the book is worth reading because of all the fun little baseball stories that aren't newsworthy or earth-shattering but are just pure fun.

As a Sox fan & season ticket holder for many years, I experienced the lows, then highs, and lows again with the team.
Francona's frank, and insider information was very interesting. The "untold story" and behind the scenes tales are eye-opening and shocking at points. His battles with ownership and others (MLB officials) in addition to his kinship with players & coaches has been documented but getting his side of the story was refreshing & made for a great book.
Shaughnessy made the perfect co-writer because of his closeness to, and coverage of the team.
Any Red Sox or baseball fan should find this book extremely entertaining & informative.

I am a Yankees fan but still enjoyed the book. You have to be a baseball nut to enjoy this. The f-word is used a thousand times in this 14 hour audio book. But if you can get past that, you can get a good insight on what it was like to be the manager of the RedSox.

Behind the scenes

The Brothers Esposito for the story BEHIND the championships.

The ability for me to enjoy the book while driving.

Francona . . . A winner DESPITE his team's idiot owners.

Minor snags in the narration which should have been caught by an astoute audio editor. Don't remember the specifics, but there were errors in the phrasing of a pitcher's record where, for example, something like "6-1" was spoken as "6-to-1" rather than "6-AND-1."