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Terry Francona undergoes heart procedure, won't manage AL in the All-Star Game

Liz Roscher
Staff writer

Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona will not be managing the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Miami. The Indians announced that Francona underwent a heart procedure on Thursday at the Cleveland Clinic, and will be using the All-Star break to recover. He’s expected to return to managing on July 14.

Here’s the statement released by the Indians:

Thursday afternoon at the Cleveland Clinic, Terry Francona underwent a cardiac ablation procedure to correct a cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat). The arrhythmia was detected through diligent monitoring of Terry’s heart rhythm over the past several weeks.

Terry is resting comfortably at the Cleveland Clinic following the successful cardiac procedure. Terry is expected to make a full recovery and will be discharged within the next day or two. It is expected he will resume managing the team beginning Friday, July 14 and Major League Baseball has been informed he will not manage the All-Star Game in Miami.

The Cleveland Indians Organization would like to express sincere gratitude to the entire staff of professionals at the Cleveland Clinic for their care and treatment of Terry.

Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona is introduced before a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians, Tuesday, April 11, 2017, during opening day in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona needs some recovery time after having a successful heart procedure. (AP Photo)

The surgery came after several weeks of escalating health problems for Francona. He was first hospitalized on June 13 with light-headedness and a rapid heart rate, and had to go back on June 26 with the same symptoms. Both times, Francona had been in the middle of managing games when he left. Francona made a third trip to the hospital on July 4, and he also missed July 5 for more tests. Those tests presumably led up to the July 6 surgery.

The American League team won’t have to manage itself in the All-Star Game (though that would be kind of awesome). MLB already has a succession plan in place.

Brad Mills had already been filling in for Francona during his recent hospital trips, and he will manage the Indians’ final three games before the break. Mills is definitely the logical choice: the two are close friends, and Mills had been on Tito’s coaching staffs in Philadelphia and Boston before their current gigs in Cleveland.

Support for Francona has been pouring in from everywhere. The Indians got the ball rolling, of course.

And we here at Big League Stew feel no differently. We wish Terry Francona a full and speedy recovery.

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