Terry Francona remembered the specific moment that sparked his return to the dugout. “My girls went to Europe for 10 days, and I watched the grandkids,” he said. “That was the one day I thought maybe I’ll go back to baseball.

Francona spent the past year working on his health and might get a scooter to ride to Great American Ball Park.

He meant no disrespect to Cleveland or its fans when he suddenly changed course to become manager of the Reds in October after stepping down as the Guardians manager following the 2023 season.