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Maddon hopes to best former Red Sox rival Francona
- Updated: October 25, 2016
CLEVELAND — It will be Joe Maddon’s Cubs against Terry Francona’s Indians when the 112th World Series begins Tuesday night at Progressive Field, and this is not the first time the two have been the last men standing.
Following the 2003 season, they were finalists for one of the most prized jobs in baseball: Boston Red Sox manager. That club was two weeks removed from a bitter loss to the Yankees in the American League Championship Series, with a young GM, Theo Epstein, who had yet to log a full year on the job. Epstein and top assistant Jed Hoyer interviewed Francona in Boston and Maddon at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix during the General Managers Meetings. Francona had previous managerial experience; Maddon did not.
• World Series Game 1: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET air time | 8 ET game time on FOX
Francona got the job. A year later, the Red Sox snapped their 86-year championship drought.
“At the time I said it: They made the right decision,” Maddon said. “I thought Tito was more prepared for that moment than I was at that time, and I’ll stand by that.”
• Get official gear: Go, Cubs, going to World Series!
Game Date Time (air time/game time) Matchup TV Gm 1 Oct. 25 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX Gm 2 Oct. 26 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX Gm 3 Oct. 28 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX Gm 4 Oct. 29 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX *Gm 5 Oct. 30 8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX *Gm 6 Nov. 1 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX *Gm 7 Nov. 2 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX * If necessary | All times listed ET • World Series coverageShop for postseason gear: Cubs | Indians
Today, Francona and Maddon lead different teams seeking to end long championship droughts. The Indians haven’t won the World Series since 1948. The Cubs haven’t won since 1908.
Passed over by Epstein in 2003, Maddon’s time came in 2006 with the Tampa Bay Rays, a young, building team with which he could implement some of his creative managerial philosophies. The team reached the franchise’s first World Series in …
