The years roll along now, the seasons pile up, the games begin to run together.
Terry Francona turned 60 recently. He's the longest-tenured manager in the American League, with 18 full seasons under his belt, plus the current one. It seems hard to believe, but by the end of this season, he'll have managed in Cleveland (seven years) nearly as long as he did Boston (eight).
Heading into Saturday's action, Francona was 21st all-time in managerial wins. By the time the 2019 season ends, he'll be 18th, passing Hall of Famer Fred Clarke, Mike Scioscia and Jim Leyland along the way.
It's a young man's game now, managing. Buck Showalter remains out of work, as does Dusty Baker. Meanwhile, the game continues to welcome first-time managers just past their playing age.
And when San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy steps down after this season, Francona will have the most wins and the longest service time in major league dugouts. It seems a given that he'll become the 11th (or 12th) manager to win 2,000 games by the time his career ends.
He began managing in 1997, and other than 2001-2003 and again in 2012, has managed every year since.
And, yes, he knows first-hand how the job has changed.
"Oh my God, it's like night and day,'' Francona told BostonSportsJournal.com this week. "Fortunately for me, I'm around a group that allows me to be myself and run the game. You hear the stories about front offices dictating lineups and things like that. We value the word 'collaboration' a lot, but I think (the Indians) value our experience as much as we value their knowledge of analytics and things like that.
"As you have a mix of both, I think you're in good shape.''
Virtually every aspect of the job has been transformed since Francona first became a major league manager in 1997 with the Phillies -- priorities, responsibilities and technology.
"I mean, I didn't even have a cellphone my first year in Philadelphia,'' he recalled. "I did all the (batter/pitcher) matchups by hand on my lineup card. Then, all of a sudden you get a computer and every year, there's more ways to measure just about everything. You don't ever want to lose what you see with your eyes, but there's data now to fall back on.''
For all the transformation that's taken place, much of the job is still based on relationships, and it's that aspect at which Francona has always excelled. His success in Boston was built on two components: communication and allowing players to be themselves.
That approach has become the standard for modern-day managers.
"I think players are always going to be players, regardless of what era we're in,'' said Francona. "I think young people are changing; I don't think it's just baseball players. I think that's part of the world we live in. Not that I feel young, but the players keep you young. They're funny and I think, for the most part, they all really want to do well.''
Francona maintains a simple philosophy and has few rules to enforce. The ones which exist are of the ''common sense'' variety: show up on time; respect the game; play hard.
"I don't mind when we make mistakes as long as guys try not to make them again,'' he said. "It's not that you don't bump heads every once in a while. But I think it's important to know that when you do, where do you go from there? That's the biggest thing.''
Francona has three grown children and four grandchildren. On a daily basis, he must manage players who are significantly younger than his own kids. But he does his best to narrow the generation gap.
"I think we have an obligation to find out what makes them tick,'' he said, "and to get the best out of them. I don't try to go and look to see what they're doing off the field as long as they're ready to play when they get (to the ballpark). As long as they show up on time, hustle and be a good teammate, we try not to get in their way. Everybody's a little different."
He finds younger players to be both more inquisitive and more informed about how the game is played.
"They come up through the minor leagues and they have more information at their fingertips, too, '' said Francona. "They're so much comfortable not only with social media, but analytics. You can go on all these web sites and find out about your arm angle and what your spin rate is. So, it's different.''
Before Francona managed the first time, he spent four seasons in Single-A and Double-A learning the job. After he was fired in Philadelphia, he was a major league coach and scout before getting his second opportunity in Boston.
But baseball is full of first-timers with no previous managerial experience whatsoever. Alex Cora won a World Series at 42. Aaron Boone won 100 games at 45. Rocco Baldelli has the best record in the game at 37.
"First, they're special people,'' noted Francona of their quick success. "Two, they have good teams. (Indeed, Cora and Boone inherited teams who had the playoffs the previous season; Baldelli's Twins, meanwhile, were just a year removed from a postseason berth). Personally, I wouldn't have been able to do it. I needed to go learn what I didn't know and make my mistakes at a lower level and make my mistakes as I came up. It was good for me.
"These guys, and someone like Kevin Cash, they're special people. I do feel you find out about managers when things are going bad rather than when they're going good.''
In early April, Francona agreed to a contract extension through 2022, which will make 10 seasons in Cleveland.
"I love the game,'' said Francona. "My goodness sakes, it's all I've ever done. I love the people I work for. In fact, if I wasn't working (in Cleveland), I'd probably be out of the game. I start to think, 'How much longer?' My body hurts somedays more than others, and I'm run down. I think about it (how long I want to continue) from time to time, but when I think I'm shortchanging the organization, I won't do it anymore because this job takes a lot of energy. I'm lucky I have (Brad Mills, bench coach) -- Millsie takes so much off my plate.''
___________________
___________________
_____________________