Terry Francona

Terry Francona would surely trade his American League Manager of the Year award—and presumably every other piece of hardware in his trophy case—for another crack at the 2016 World Series.

His Cleveland Indians got to Game 7. They could taste it. Their first championship since 1948. 

Instead, it was "wait until next year."

Manager Terry Francona led the Cleveland Indians to the 2016 World Series, where they lost a dramatic Game 7 to the Chicago Cubs in extra innings, 8-7. The organization announced Friday it elected to exercise the 2019 and 2020 club options on his contract.

CLEVELAND — One win away from their first World Series title in 68 years, it's taken the Cleveland Indians far more than 68 moves to build this dream of a team.

And yet two bold statements stand out above all the rest.

The first was hiring manager Terry Francona back on Oct. 6, 2012.

The second was acquiring relief ace Andrew Miller from the New York Yankees on July 31.

Terry Francona walked to the mound, and Chicago Cubs fans around the world thought the Cleveland Indians manager was doing them a favor.

Some favor.

Josh Tomlin was cruising Friday at Wrigley Field, two outs into the fifth inning of a scoreless game. The Cubs had two hits, both singles. Tomlin had thrown just 58 pitches.

After two winning seasons at the helm for the Cleveland Indians, manager Terry Francona's future is now secure thanks to the finalization of a contract extension Tuesday.

It's never a good thing when the skipper walks to the mound, unless the manager is Terry Francona and he is meandering over to the bump to relay that you made the team. 

The results are in and Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona has been named the AL Manager of the Year:

Francona beat out Boston skipper John Farrell by 16 points, with Oakland's Bob Melvin coming in third. Here's a look at the full results:

Just two years ago Terry Francona had reached rock bottom in his baseball career. What a difference two years can make.

Francona's masterful managerial performance this past season was recognized today when he was named the 2013 American League Manager of the Year, according to MLB:

Former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona has a new book entitled Francona: The Red Sox Years, and it hits shelves on January 22.

Brett Myers may not be Zack Greinke, David Price or, even, Justin Masterson, but the signing of a veteran, free agent starter was fantastic news for Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona and the fans of the team.