BOSTON — When Red Sox manager John Farrell begins his first round of chemotherapy treatments, he’ll have a close friend by his side.
Former Boston skipper Terry Francona, whose Cleveland Indians are in town this week for a three-game series, will accompany Farrell to Massachusetts General Hospital on Tuesday as he begins his fight against Stage 1 lymphoma.
“We were just talking,” Francona explained before Monday’s game at Fenway Park. “I was just asking questions — the normal questions — and he mentioned that he was going to start (chemo) Tuesday. And I was like, ‘Man, I’m right there. I’ll meet you there. I’ll go with you.’ I may not do anything but get in the way like normal, but being a friend, the only thing I know how to do is be a friend.”
Francona’s friendship with Farrell dates back nearly three decades. The two were teammates with the Indians in 1988, were reunited with the Detroit Tigers in 1996 (when Farrell was a reliever and Francona was Detroit’s third base coach) and later spent four seasons together on the Red Sox’s coaching staff, with Farrell serving under Francona as pitching coach from 2007 to 2010.
“Having him here for four years was a blessing,” Francona said.
As he addressed the media Monday, Francona clearly still was shaken by the news of Farrell’s diagnosis, which the Red Sox manager publicly announced Friday.
“It’s not an easy thing to explain,” Francona said. “I think, like everybody else, it’s a little bit unsettling. I was worried about him because of the hernia, and all of the sudden you get the unexpected news of something more serious. It kind of unsettles you a little bit. But I do know that if well-wishes and lots of people caring, if that has anything to do with the outcome, he’s going to be in good shape, because a lot of people care about him, myself included.”
When asked to describe the first thought that went through his mind following Farrell’s announcement, Francona struggled to find the words to do so. All he wanted to do, he said, was talk to his friend.
“I don’t even know,” Francona said. “Probably like everybody else. You just kind of — like, you’re not expecting that. Kind of stunned. And then my first reaction was, I knew people were probably wanting to get (a hold) of him, but I wanted to talk to him. Because in this game, you run into so many good people and so many friends, and then there’s a handful of people that are friends not in baseball, but outside of baseball. And he’s certainly one of those for me.”
Thumbnail photo via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
