Indians manager Francona is new king of Cleveland
It was May, 2015, and the Cleveland Cavaliers were playing the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Eastern Conference finals.
Terry "Tito" Francona attended Game 3 of the series and he ran into some trouble after the final buzzer sounded.
Returning to his apartment in downtown Cleveland, Francona headed for the elevator and was grabbed by a security guard who thought he was trying to bother Cavs forward Kevin Love, a fellow resident in the building.
Francona wasn't happy about being treated like a random autograph hound that time, but that is no longer a problem.
After guiding the Indians to the World Series - they host the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 on Tuesday night at Progressive Field - Francona is the new king of Cleveland.
Step aside, LeBron James.
"Tito does such a good job of setting the tone in the clubhouse," ace relief pitcher Andrew Miller said of his manager. "It's loose. That's his style. His ability to just put us in good situations and his ability to communicate from maybe the front office or ownership to us or whatever is asked of us, it's exceptional and he's special."
In an age of statistical overload for players, major-league managers still primarily are judged on wins and losses.
The more you look at Francona's resume, the more he looks like a Hall of Famer.
Before coming to Cleveland in 2013, the 57-year-old Francona managed Boston for eight seasons (2004-11), and he led the Red Sox to two World Series championships while going 8-0 in the Fall Classic.
Working for a Boston front office that included current Cubs president Theo Epstein, Francona had the luxury of managing teams that always were among the highest paid in the game.
With the Indians, it has been the opposite. In his four seasons in the dugout, Cleveland has ranked 21st, 26th, 26th and 24th (this year) in team payroll.
Under Francona, the Indians have never had a losing record, and they are in the postseason for the second time with a shot at winning the World Series for the first time since 1948.
"I'm honored that we're going to the World Series because we always said if we could do it with this group it would be so special because this is as close to a family feel as you can get in a professional setting," Francona said after Cleveland bested the high-powered Toronto Blue Jays in the American League championship series.
"For that part of it, it is beyond feeling good. The only personal things are the relationships. I just want to talk about the players. I think those are the things I'd rather talk about."
That is classic Francona. Whether he was managing the Philadelphia Phillies (1997-2000), the Red Sox or Indians - even when he was in the Chicago White Sox's system managing Michael Jordan at Class AA Birmingham in 1995 - it was always about the players.
"Tito is the forefront of us, in all we do," second baseman Jason Kipnis told The New York Post. "You are not going to find one guy in here who does not enjoy playing for him and doesn't wish he would be their manager the rest of their careers.
"Once you have a guy like Tito, you really don't want anybody else to manage you. You are like, 'This is the way it should be, this is the way I want it to be, this is the way I enjoy it.' He's so much fun and he lets you be who you are."