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.
