Highlighted Year: Tito Francona, 1961

Outfielder/First Baseman, Cleveland Indians

Age:  27

3^rd season with Indians

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 5’11” Weight: 190 

Prior to 1961:

A Pennsylvania native, Francona starred in football at New Brighton High School. He also played American Legion, as well as high school, baseball. He turned down college football scholarship offers to sign with the St. Louis Browns out of high school in 1952. Initially assigned to the York White Roses of the Class B Interstate League, the 18-year-old outfielder batted a disappointing .227 with 18 RBIs and a .341 on-base percentage. Playing for Aberdeen of the Class C Northern League in 1953, Francona played first base, and under the mentorship of manager Barney Lutz hit .325 with 35 doubles, 10 triples, 6 home runs, 79 RBIs, a .413 OBP, and a .479 slugging percentage. Following two years in the Army, the Browns were now the Baltimore Orioles and Francona reported to the club’s rookie school in 1956. Having impressed new manager Paul Richards, he received a new contract and a spot on Baltimore’s roster. He saw regular action in the outfield and at first base and batted .258 with 16 doubles, 4 triples, 9 home runs, 57 RBIs, a .334 OBP, and a .373 slugging percentage. A victim of the numbers game in 1957, Francona was sent down to Vancouver of the Pacific Coast League and, after a short stay back in the minors, he returned to Baltimore and broke a bone in his left hand, costing him a month of action. Upon his return, he spent most of his time on the bench and in 97 appearances he hit .233 with 7 home runs, 38 RBIs, and a .307 OBP. Traded to the Chicago White Sox in the offseason, he contracted hepatitis while playing winter ball in Puerto Rico. It was further found that he suffered from a heart problem and had to receive clearance from a cardiologist to play. Appearing in just 41 games with the White Sox, Francona was dealt to the Detroit Tigers in June. For the year he batted .254 in 86 games with 11 extra-base hits, 20 RBIs, and a .350 OBP. During spring training in 1959, he found himself on the move again, this time to the Indians where he broke out by hitting .363 with 20 home runs, 79 RBIs, a .414 OBP, and a .566 slugging percentage. He missed time late in the season due to a leg injury but finished fifth in league MVP voting, although he lacked the necessary plate appearances to qualify for the AL batting championship. Having displayed more than the expected power while splitting time between the outfield and first base, Francona had another solid season for the Indians in 1960, batting .292 with a league-leading 36 doubles to go with 17 home runs, 79 RBIs, a .372 OBP, and a .460 slugging percentage. Defensively he spent most of his time in left field after having seen much action in center field in ’59 and appeared in 13 games as a first baseman.

1961 Season Summary

Appeared in 155 games

LF – 138, 1B – 14, PH – 8

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 667 [14]

At Bats – 592 [11]

Runs – 87 [18, tied with Chuck Schilling & Jim Landis]

Hits – 178 [4]

Doubles – 30 [7, tied with Rocky Colavito & Danny O’Connell]

Triples – 8 [4, tied with Norm Cash & Jim Landis]

Home Runs – 16

RBI – 85 [14, tied with Jim Landis]

Bases on Balls – 56

Int. BB – 3

Strikeouts – 52

Stolen Bases – 2

Caught Stealing – 1

Average - .301 [7]

OBP - .363 [18, tied with Bob Allison]

Slugging Pct. - .459 [20]

Total Bases – 272 [8]

GDP – 11

Hit by Pitches – 4 [16, tied with fourteen others]

Sac Hits – 12 [4]

Sac Flies – 3 

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 17, 3B – 3, HR - 6, RBI - 38, AVG - .297, OBP – .357, SLG – .424

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at KC A’s 4/23, (in 4 AB) vs. Boston 7/20

Longest hitting streak – 10 games

HR at home – 9

HR on road – 7

Most home runs, game – 1 on sixteen occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 at KC A’s 4/23

Pinch-hitting – 1 for 7 (.143) with 1 R, 1 RBI & 1 BB

Fielding (OF)

Chances – 298

Put Outs – 289

Assists – 5

Errors – 4

DP – 1

Pct. - .987

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

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The Indians went 78-83 to finish fifth in the AL, 30.5 games behind the pennant-winning New York Yankees while leading the league in hits (1493), doubles (257), batting (.266, tied with the Yankees), and fewest walks drawn (492). The Indians started well, moved into contention, and were in first place from June 6-16 before a seven-game losing streak dropped them out of contention. A rough second half, primarily caused by inadequate pitching, left them in fifth place and led to the dismissal of manager Jimmy Dykes.

Aftermath of 1961:

Playing exclusively at first base in 1962, Francona’s batting production dropped to .272 with 28 doubles, 5 triples, 14 home runs, 70 RBIs, a .327 OBP, and a .401 slugging percentage. Back in left field in 1963, his hitting dropped off further to .228 with 29 doubles, 10 home runs, 41 RBIs, a .296 OBP, and a .346 slugging percentage. Having fallen out of favor with manager Birdie Tebbetts, Francona returned to a backup role in 1964, batting .248 with 8 home runs, 24 RBIs, and a .361 OBP. In the offseason he was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals. Utilized as a utility player and pinch-hitter, he appeared in 81 games and hit .259 with 5 home runs, 19 RBIs, and a .323 OBP. He spent one more season with St. Louis in 1966 with declining production off the bench. Just prior to the 1967 season he was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies where he lasted until June when he was dispatched to the Atlanta Braves. Appearing in a total of 109 games, mostly at first base and as a pinch-hitter, he batted .239 with 6 home runs, 28 RBIs, and a .297 OBP. Still a valued backup in left field and first base in 1968, Francona hit .286 with a .376 OBP while appearing in 122 games. He was sold to the Oakland A’s during the 1969 season and traded to the Milwaukee Brewers during the 1970 campaign, after which he retired. For his major league career, Francona batted .272 with 1395 hits that included 224 doubles, 34 triples, and 125 home runs. He scored 650 runs and accumulated 656 RBIs, 46 stolen bases, a .343 OBP, and a .403 slugging percentage. With Cleveland, where he had his greatest success, he batted .284 with 832 hits, 413 runs scored, 153 doubles, 19 triples, 85 home runs, 378 RBIs, 21 stolen bases, a .353 OBP, and a .437 slugging percentage. An All-Star only once, he did not appear in the postseason. Following his baseball career, he was director of Parks and Recreation for Beaver County, Pennsylvania and he was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. He died in 2018 at age 84. His son Terry was also a major league outfielder and first baseman, primarily with the Montreal Expos, who went on to a successful major league managing career. New Brighton, Pennsylvania named its youth baseball facility in honor of Tito and Terry Francona.  

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.