CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Terry Francona has achieved the highest levels of success as a manager having won a pair of World Series with the Boston Red Sox.
Francona came close with the then Indians in 2016 and hope remains he’ll eventually do it with the Guardians.
Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff aspires to do the same leading the Cavaliers, who are set to end a five-year playoff drought when they host the New York Knicks this weekend, prompting Bickerstaff to text Francona for some advice leading up to Game 1.
“I reached out to him to just see if I could pick his brain on some things and he's been open and he's always reached out and shown support,” Bickerstaff said.
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Francona was thrilled to hear from the Cavs head coach and hopes their conversations won’t simply be limited to a few text messages or phone calls.
“I'd love to visit with him,” Francona said.
The Cavs and Guardians share a special relationship that goes beyond being next door neighbors on the south side of downtown Cleveland.
Guardians players frequent Cavs games and Cavs players frequent Guardians games.
Francona is an avid college basketball fan but Bickerstaff’s young Cavs have caught his attention and so he makes an effort to watch the Cavs as much as he’s been able to.
“I was telling him I was really happy for them. I was proud of him,” Francona said. “And then he was like, ‘maybe we can visit one of these days,’ and I definitely have some views. I think I can help him, like with pick and roll, some things that he can incorporate, which I'm sure he would appreciate.”
While Francona joked about offering strategic advice, he is serious about being there professionally for Bickerstaff, who embarks on his first playoff series with the Cavs after guiding the pandemic shortened season that saw Cleveland not be invited to the bubble after winning 22 games.
Last season Bickerstaff’s Cavs doubled their win total but faded down the stretch and lost a pair of games in the Play-In Tournament. This year they won 51 and clinched the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
It’s rare in any sport that the coach or manager that goes through the rebuild gets to stick around for playoff runs.
“You don't often get to see your product finished as a coach in our position,” Bickerstaff said. “Typically you go through something and then somebody else is reaping the benefits of it. So we are extremely fortunate to be a part of this group and that the group came together the way that it did. So it’s not lost on me, and again, I am appreciative for these guys, for this organization to be in the position that we're in now.”
Francona recalled a visit he had years ago with former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan.
Last year Francona met with former Browns special teams coordinator Mike Priefer.
Both conversations gave him a different perspective about professional basketball and football.
“We sat there for an hour and listened to him talk and he was saying some stuff and I'm like, damn, it's cool, right,” Francona said. “Because it's different than, I mean, mentalities can be the same, but the whole world that is so different – what they see [versus] what I think I see on TV.”
Bickerstaff’s Cavs and Francona’s Guardians mirror each other in several ways – their youth and playing style: hard and to the very end.
“There's like a charisma or a pizzazz that engage the fan base with both of our teams, whether it's individual personalities or it's how they play as a team, which I think our fan base really respects and appreciates,” Bickerstaff said. “So I do think there is that scrappiness that both of our teams have.”
Francona and Bickerstaff both grew up around their respective games because of their fathers –Tito Francona and Bernie Bickerstaff – which makes their bond even more special.
“I just feel it because I think he's a nice guy that is easy to pull for,” Francona said. “That's probably what I see. It looks like he really respects the game and that I think comes maybe from a family where you grow up knowing how hard it is and things like that. I like the way he treats his players. I like the way they play. I admire a lot of what he does and stuff.
“I don't even pretend to understand about basketball wise, but I just know that I like the way they do things.”
That is why Francona has given Bickerstaff an open invitation to just “come on over.”