McAdam: Terry Francona watches with pride as his former backup catcher (and one-time coach) manages the Rays into the World Series

Let others be surprised by the fact that, in just a few years, Kevin Cash has established himself as one of the best managers in baseball.

Terry Francona isn't. Not even a little.

As Cash's Tampa Bay Rays represent the American League in the 2020 World Series, Francona recognized Cash's potential a long time ago and can't help but feel some pride in watching Cash's managerial career reach such heights.

"Oh my God, I'm beyond proud,'' said Francona from his home in Arizona. "When we hired Cashy (as bullpen coach in Cleveland prior to the 2013 season), I knew we weren't going to have him for long. I didn't realize that it would be quite that quick. He kind of skipped a couple of steps -- maybe (move to) third base coach, bench coach. He skipped a few steps. But when you're special, especially in today's game, you can do that and people bet on the person, as opposed to the experience.''

Traditionally, the bullpen coach on most major league staffs is the lowest rung on the ladder. But Cash quickly demonstrated that he could have an impact.

"Right away,'' recalled Francona, "he was more than the bullpen coach. He didn't just sit out there and handle those guys. But he was way more relevant to the staff. He always had a well thought-out opinion and he cared so deeply about the guys out there. There were nights he'd call me on the (dugout) phone and say, 'Hey, do you realize that this guy hasn't pitched in five (expletive) days?' He just was so passionate and he very quickly made an impression on everyone in the organization.

"He had an honest way about him. Like, if I said something, he'd say, 'You don't mean that -- shut up.' And I'd be like, 'Yeah, you're right.' He didn't feel like he had to tip-toe.''

After two years on the Indians staff, Cash began getting calls to interview for managerial openings. He sought out Francona for advice about how to handle the interview process. Francona advised that Cash simply talk about how he felt about the game. For several weeks, Cash brought a legal pad to Francona and continually revised his thought and prepared for his presentation.

After first interviewing for the job with the Texas Rangers, Cash was hired after the 2014 season for the Rays job.



Francona recognized Cash's managerial qualities when Cash served as his backup catcher with the Red Sox over two stints -- first 2007-2008 and again 2010. The two often played cribbage together in Francona's office early in the afternoon, but what first caught the manager's eyes was how the journeyman catcher interacted with more high-profile teammates,

"It wasn't just the cribbage games,'' said Francona. "Remember where my office was at Fenway, and how you could see out into the clubhouse? You could see a lot. And I would see a guy who would go toe-to-toe with (Dustin) Pedroia or (David) Ortiz. Ortiz would be on him, and Cash would just say, 'Shut the (expletive) up.' I would laugh. And I would also think: he's got more way more pull than a guy hitting .160 and playing once every 10 days should.

"It wasn't fake. He could hold his own. Guys like him, Alex Cora ... they don't have to maybe be the best player on the team to appreciate what they bring. would learn stuff quickly.''

Cash's responsibilities with the Rays are really two-fold.

Thanks to the team's modest resources, the Rays have had to be innovative with their roster, leading to the experiment with the "opener,'' while also leaning heavily on platoons and utilizing players at multiple positions. But in addition to handling all that strategy, Cash has had to get his players to buy-in to his sometimes unorthodox methods.

Most managers wouldn't lift Charlie Morton, unscored upon at 66 pitches in a playoff game, or ask an infielder to go be part of a four-man outfield alignment, or sit a top player for a platoon advantage.

"He's got to make all that work -- and he does,'' said Francona. "And it doesn't just happen with luck. He doesn't just write them the names out. It takes a ton of communication.''

Perhaps Cash's most obvious skill is in handling a pitching staff. Part of that comes from his catching career, when his game-calling and ability to handle a staff more than made up for his .183 career batting average, and part comes from his stint in Cleveland, handling the Indians relievers.

"He paid attention to everything,'' said Cash. "And I don't think there were too many times when I called down (to the bullpen) and was surprised about who we wanted up. We were always on the same page.''

In the mad celebration of the Rays' win over Houston in Game 7 of the ALCS, a number of players went out of their way to mention that Cash had given them the freedom to be themselves. Sometimes, that includes the silliness of a dance-off between Brett Phillips and Randy Arozorena -- akin to the 2004 Red Sox who were given the latitude to perform naked push-ups in the clubhouse or take a quick sip of booze as a pre-game postseason ritual.

"I think,'' said Francona, "that's probably why we gravitated toward one another to begin with -- we probably felt the same way about things. (I always felt) if a guy's being a good teammate, that's what's important. Not everybody is going to be the same. As long as players are doing their job, it's OK. And I know he feels the same way.''

In ways both large and small, Cash has borrowed from Francona's leadership philosophy.

"We had some guys come over from Tampa (to Cleveland),'' chuckled Francona, "and they said, 'Hey man, you stole Kevin Cash's spring training speech. And I said, "(Expletive) that, he (expletive) stole mine!' ''

Even as rival managers, the two maintain a strong friendship and enjoy calling each other out. Francona recalled reading a recent ranking of the playing careers of current MLB managers and expressed relief that he finished -- barely -- ahead of Cash.

"If he had been ranked ahead of me, I might have killed myself,'' cracked Francona.

Francona's most notorious trolling of Cash came several years ago when he convinced the scoreboard operators at Progressive Field to post a note during pre-game batting practice that Cash owned the fifth-worst OPS all-time among players with at least 650 plate appearances.

And mostly, Francona passes on opportunities to drag Cash with lines like: "There were times when he was hitting that I wished he was a coach or manager.''

"I've stopped that the last couple of years,'' Francona said with mock-seriousness. "They were starting to get too good and I didn't want to piss him off.''

Cash has reached such exalted status as a manager after six years in the Tampa dugout that his own staff members are being hired elsewhere, including Rocco Baldelli (Minnesota) and Charlie Montoyo (Toronto), or soon rumored to be (current bench coach Matt Quatraro). Already, like Francona, there's a Kevin Cash managerial tree.

And from his home in Arizona, completing his recovery from a hellish year of medical emergencies, Francona couldn't be more happy to watch his one-time protege succeed.