Francona-Boone connection spans 8 decades, 3 generations

The White Sox were in need of an infielder and had a promising young outfielder who no longer fit their plans. The Tigers were in need of an outfielder and had an aging All-Star infielder who no longer fit in their plans.

And so, on June 15, 1958, the two struggling American League teams engineered a trade. Tito Francona (along with right-hander Bill Fischer) went to the Tigers; Ray Boone (along with right-hander Bob Shaw) went to the Sox.

On that day, Francona and Boone were two ships passing in the night. Now, 64 years and four months later, Francona’s son, Terry, and Boone’s grandson, Aaron, are managing against each other in the postseason for the first time. The AL Division Series between Boone’s Yankees and Francona’s Guardians begins Tuesday night in the Bronx.

The careers of Terry Francona and Aaron Boone are inadvertently intertwined, thanks not only to that long-ago swap involving their forbearers (“My dad was traded for everybody,” Francona quips), but also to one historic swing of the bat from Boone.

With both men growing up embedded in Major League Baseball, they have similar beliefs in how the game should be played and managed.

“I would like to think -- and I hope I'm not wrong -- people that come from the lineage have a deep respect for the game,” Francona said. “I know growing up, man, if my dad thought for one minute that I would be disrespectful to somebody, my ass would be home with mom. … I think it carries over to as you get older. I hope it does.”

The original “Tito” was in just his third MLB season when he was dealt for Boone. As a fresh face with the Orioles, he had finished tied for second in AL Rookie of the Year balloting with Cleveland’s Rocky Colavito in 1956, while future Hall of Famer Luis Aparacio claimed the prize. Tito was dealt to the White Sox prior to 1958, but he played just 41 games before Chicago sent him on the move again. And his time with the Tigers didn’t last long, either. In the offseason following the 1958 season, he was dealt to Cleveland for future Hall of Famer Larry Doby, the man who integrated the AL.

It was in Cleveland that Francona’s career took off. He finished fifth in AL MVP voting in 1959 and he was an All-Star in 1961. Tito wound up spending six seasons in Cleveland. And here’s an interesting fact from MLB Network’s research crew: His .363 average in 1959 still stands as the highest single-season average for a Cleveland player (min. 400 plate appearances) since the franchise last won the World Series in 1948.

Funny thing about that 1948 title team: Ray Boone was on it. His career began in Cleveland, where, as a 25-year-old rookie with only six games played to his name, he was rostered for the ’48 Fall Classic against the Boston Braves. Boone pinch-hit against Hall of Famer Warren Spahn in the eighth inning of Game 5 and struck out.

While that would be his only postseason plate appearance, Boone went on to a long and distinguished career. He received down-ballot MVP votes three times with the Tigers and he was an All-Star third baseman in 1954 and ’56.

Ray Boone finished his career with the Red Sox in 1960. Tito Francona finished his a decade later with the Brewers. In 1972, Ray’s son, Bob, debuted with the Phillies. In 1981, Tito’s son, Terry, debuted with the Expos.

Finally, in 1997, Bob’s son, Aaron, debuted with the Reds. He played a handful of games before getting sent back to Triple-A. He returned in September, and his first opponent upon that return was a Phillies team managed by -- you guessed it -- first-year manager Terry Francona.

Aaron Boone’s lone All-Star season came in 2003 -- the year he was traded from the Reds to the Yankees. His bat famously sealed the outcome of the classic ALCS the Yanks played against the rival Red Sox. In Game 7, Boston manager Grady Little tried to ride starter Pedro Martinez too long, costing the Red Sox a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth. The Yankees tied it to send it to extras, where Boone hit the walk-off home run off Tim Wakefield in the 11th. With that swing, Boone not only permanently attached his name to an expletive in New England, but he also sealed the fate of Little, who was fired by the Red Sox 11 days later.

Little’s replacement? One Terry Francona, who of course would go on to help break the “Curse of the Bambino” for Boston the following fall. The Red Sox actually began their historic comeback against the Yankees in Game 4 of the ALCS on Oct. 17, 2004 -- the same day Ray Boone passed away.

That’s a lot of intertwinements in the history of the Francona and Boone families. Here’s to another chapter being written in the 2022 ALDS.