PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – “I don’t know if Gene can turn on a computer, but I know he has a degree in baseball.”
That’s what World Series champion and current Reds manager Terry Francona said Monday of the Pirates hiring Gene Lamont to help new manager Don Kelly. Lamont was the White Sox manager when Francona was coming up and coaching at AA in the White Sox organization.
Francona would try to find time to talk to Lamont, as much for what he may have had to say as to what he learned from Jim Leyland and Rich Donnelly.
“If you’re my age, Jim’s the gold standard,” Francona said before the opening game of the Pirates-Reds series. “So I would always grab Geno or Rich and ask them about Jim. I managed against Geno when I was with the Phillies a little bit. He has a degree in baseball. He’s been doing it forever and he’s pretty good at it.”
He said while he doesn’t know Kelly well, he’s heard a lot of great things about him. Francona said it’s a little awkward to talk about one new manager because you have to consider the feelings of the guy they let go.
“It’s hard,” Francona said. “Sometimes the business is kind of hard.”
There is an advantage to having someone with Lamont’s experience. Francona said he had Chuck Cottier as his bench coach when he first managed and ‘it was the single best thing that happened to me’. It helped Francona a ton, as for other thoughts to pass on to another Western Pennsylvania native.
“I wouldn’t (impart wisdom) because I’ve got my hands full here and I don’t ever evaluate another organization,” Francona said. “It’s just not the way to do it. Because I’m from here, it’s always been a special place – not for the next three days.”
“They’re in our division – but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care. I grew up 30 minutes from here. As long as they’re behind us, I like when they win.”
He said the favorite thing for him about coming back home was being able to see his dad. Francona called it the greatest thing ever to interact with his father. It’s bittersweet now that he’s died.
If there is something that makes him happy about being back home, it’s the Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe. You should have seen his face light up about the Beaver County restaurant. He thinks he’s figured out a service that will deliver their hot dogs to PNC Park while he’s here.
“At my dad’s funeral, my kids when they left the funeral said, ‘Dad, we’re going to the Hot Dog Shoppe’,” Francona recalled. “It’s like, they’re so good.”
“And they’re good for you.”