Terry Francona knows what it takes to win at the Major League level—his two World Series rings are proof of that.
Now, as the new manager of the Reds, he’s working to instill the winning mindset he fostered with the Red Sox into a young and talented Cincinnati squad.
“We’re young, but that will never be an excuse for not winning,” Francona said Wednesday on MLB Network Radio via SiriusXM.
To reinforce his message, Francona brought in Dustin Pedroia—one of the key players from his 2007 championship Red Sox team and a leader on Boston’s 2013 title-winning squad—to speak to the Reds during Spring Training.
“We had Dustin Pedroia come in and talk to our guys the other day,” Francona said. “I was ready to run through a wall. If you weren’t fired up as a player after that, you don’t have a heartbeat. My palms were sweating—it was incredible.”
Francona believes the Reds have what it takes to compete in the National League Central in 2025.
“There are no guarantees on how good we’ll be, but we’ll find out,” he said. “We’re young enough that, hopefully, you’ll start to see them take another step forward. If we can keep our staff healthy, maybe we can make some noise.”
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