HEADLINE

Indians’ Francona endured several surgeries, blood clot issues

Field Level Media

October 07, 2020 at 9:25 pm.

Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona’s health-challenged season included “nine to 10 surgeries” by his count and severe issues with blood clots.

Francona revealed the depth of his medical issues during an availability with reporters on Wednesday. The 61-year-old managed the Indians for just 14 games of the shortened 60-game regular season because of his health issues.

Francona initially had surgery for gastrointestinal issues that had bothered him for more than a year. But the blood clotting soon followed and he had three surgeries in short order, requiring four days in intensive care at the Cleveland Clinic.

“It was kind of a tough time,” Francona said on a Zoom call from his home in Tucson, Ariz. “I don’t want to go through that again.”

Francona said he had a blood-clotting issue 18 years ago. As his health issues intensified, he didn’t consider clotting could be a factor.

Francona managed the first nine games of the season before becoming ill on Aug. 2 when the Indians were visiting the Minnesota Twins. He underwent the gastro procedure and resumed his duties on Aug. 11 but the stay didn’t last long as he began experiencing major issues that culminated on Aug. 16 in Detroit.

Francona thought it was a problem with a previous hernia surgery but it was actually something much more severe.

“You guys knew I was fighting the (gastrointestinal) stuff and I probably will for some time,” Francona said. “They said it took me a year to get this screwed up so it’s not going to get fixed over night.

“In the meantime I thought I had reinjured my hernia. I wasn’t all that worried about it. I went to see the doctor and it wasn’t a hernia, it was a blood clot. It started to make sense. The last day in Detroit, I couldn’t get my shoe on because my right foot was so swollen. … I was just really uncomfortable.

“When they did the surgery to repair the blood clots, I re-clotted, I guess, three different times. So in the span of three or four days, I had to have three surgeries. I was in ICU for about four days. It was a rough time.”

Sandy Alomar filled in for Francona as manager and guided the Indians into the playoffs, where the team lost to the New York Yankees in the first round. However, it was announced earlier this week that Francona will return for the 2021 season, his ninth with the club.

Francona said he hired a personal trainer so he can improve his health and conditioning prior to spring training.

“I need to get a lot stronger,” Francona said. “I had a pretty challenging year up to this point. I’m going to have to put some effort into getting stronger. I had a lot of challenging things happen this year that kind of knocked me back.”

Francona also faces the possibility of getting his left hip replaced — he previously had his right hip and both knees replaced — but is leaning toward putting it off after his unpleasant experiences this summer.

“That’s a pretty big surgery and I need to do it without risk,” Francona said. “I’d love to have my hip feel better. I’d love for my quality of life to be a little bit better. But I also don’t feel like going through the blood clots again. Limping is better than being horizontal.”

In addition to his stint with the Indians, Francona served as manager of the Boston Red Sox for eight seasons and won World Series titles in 2004 and 2007. He also managed the Philadelphia Phillies for four seasons.