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#pounditFriday, March 29, 2024

Terry Francona says he nearly blacked out during games

Terry Francona

Terry Francona returned to the Cleveland Indians on Thursday to prepare for the second half of the season, and he was thrilled to be back after missing more than a week due to a heart condition that was recently discovered.

Francona joined the Indians for a workout at the Coliseum in anticipation of their upcoming series against the Oakland A’s. While he has only been gone a relatively short time, he said it felt a lot longer.

“I was probably a little more excited than everybody else here,” Francona said, per Jordan Bastain of MLB.com. “I told the guys — you text with guys and stuff — I have a feeling I probably missed them more than they missed me. You can’t help but get attached to everybody.”

After undergoing a series of tests to determine why he had been dealing with spells of lightheadedness, Francona had a heart procedure on July 6 to address an irregular heartbeat. The 58-year-old opened up about how he nearly fainted during more than one game and had no idea why.

“I’d get to a point during games where I was going to black out,” Francona said. “Some people were telling me it’s anxiety. I’m probably the least (anxious) person ever, so there were a few games where I would push through. … Finally, when they realized what was going on, that was helpful.”

Since the Indians were the American League champions last year, Francona was supposed to manage in the All-Star Game. He ended up having to skip it. The two-time World Series champion will continue to wear a heart monitor to track any future symptoms, but he believes his active lifestyle — which includes swimming regularly — has helped keep things under control.

“It probably saved me, because my heart was so strong,” he said. “Because, it was beating upwards to 200 a minute, so I think that might’ve saved me. This didn’t happen because of a lifestyle.”

Indians bench coach Brad Mills took Francona’s place at the All-Star Game, and he honored the manager in hilarious fashion. The team is obviously relieved to have Tito back.

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