Indians to name Terry Francona as next manager

CLEVELAND, OH - The Indians will name Terry Francona the team's next manager. The team will make the formal announcement at 11 a.m. Monday at Progressive Field. NewsChannel 5 Sports Director Andy Baskin confirmed the hiring late Saturday afternoon.

The Indians confirmed the announcement by sending out the following statement on Saturday night.

The Cleveland Indians have named Terry Francona as the 42nd manager in franchise history. The club will make a formal announcement on Monday morning at Progressive Field, but no further details or comments will be made available until that time out of respect for MLB protocol involving announcements during the Postseason.  

The Indians had interviewed just two candidates for their vacant managerial position and didn't waste any time pulling the trigger three days after the season concluded.

Francona was in Cleveland all day Friday to meet with Indians President Mark Shapiro and General Manager Chris Antonetti. Francona said the meetings went very well and even went as far as saying managing the team would be like a family reunion of sorts.

Francona recently managed the Red Sox from 2004-2011, winning two world series titles. The candidate list was short, the team interviewed bench coach Sandy Alomar who finished the season as the Indians interim manager the final six games, winning three of them. Alomar met with team officials on Thursday, one day before Francona.

Francona has history here in Cleveland, having played for the Indians in 1988. Terry's dad Tito was an outfielder and first baseman for the Indians from 1959-1964 

For the latest on this developing situation continue to check here at newsnet5.com.

 Ken