While managing Reds, New Brighton's Terry Francona admits 'I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care' about Pirates' results

According to Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona, Gene Lamont graduated from a very specialized field of study.

“He has a degree in baseball,” Francona said Monday before his Reds played the Pirates in the first of their three-game series at PNC Park.

The 78-year-old Lamont is continuing his post-grad work with the Pirates as a special advisor to new manager Don Kelly, who just assumed that job on May 8.

“I think there are things that happen in the game, before the game, after the game, that, because Donnie has never managed, he may have a question,” Lamont said Monday. “Did I do the right thing? He can run things by me, and I’ll mention some things to him. But I think a lot of it will be Donnie asking me questions.”

Many wondered if it’d be Francona who might be interested in pursuing a managerial doctorate back in his hometown with the Pirates before the 2025 season began. The two-time World Series champion was available for hire. But the Bucs front office decided to stick with Derek Shelton.

Well, for 38 games anyway.

With the Pirates posting a 12-26 record, the franchise fired Shelton and promoted Kelly from the staff. Meanwhile, Francona has the Reds at 25-24 after Cincy finished 77-85 in 2024, just one game better than the National League Central’s cellar-dwelling Pirates.

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So the idea of what could’ve been for the New Brighton native to manage at PNC Park full-time is nothing more than that: what could’ve been.

Francona isn’t dwelling on that hypothetical.

“I’ve got my hands full here, and I don’t ever evaluate another organization. It’s just not the way to do it,” Francona said. “Because I’m from here, it’s always been a special place. Not for the next three days. (The Pirates) are in our division. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care. I grew up 30 minutes from here. As long as they’re behind us, I like it when they win.”

In terms of learning what it takes for Kelly to expand his own degree in baseball, Francona didn’t feel that it was appropriate for him to dispense a syllabus.

“Don doesn’t need my help. Everybody has the right to do it however they want,” Francona added.

Then the three-time Manager of the Year brought the conversation back to Lamont.

“When I went to the Phillies (as a rookie manager in 1997), Chuck Cottier was our bench coach. I didn’t know Chuck, and it was the single best thing that ever happened to me,” Francona continued. “He’s a guy who had managed in the minor leagues. He wasn’t going to try to manage again, and he looked out for me, and it helped a ton.”

For his part, it sounds as if Lamont is attempting to employ a similar strategy with Kelly.

“It’s more just being with Donnie,” Lamont said. “Maybe there are some decisions during the game that he wonders about. Do I have all the answers? I have the answers, but they’re not always right. … I’m going to give my opinion, and hopefully, it’ll help.”

Kelly is glad to take any wisdom Lamont wants to dispense.

“He’s just a phenomenal baseball guy,” Kelly said. “He taught me a lot as a player (in Detroit on Jim Leyland’s staff). I’m looking forward to having him around and teaching the staff and the players here what he knows.”

Kelly also talked about what it would be like to manage against Francona in the division.

“I got to know Tito competing against him in Boston and Cleveland, and I think that, looking back, what he means to Western Pa. and MLB and the success that he has had, it’s really cool to manage against him,” Kelly said. “He has had a tremendous career.”

En route to his baseball degree, if Kelly decided to cheat off Francona’s answers to the test, that may not be a bad thing.

After all, if Francona had been here all season, the Pirates still may not be getting a passing grade, but they probably wouldn’t have been failing as miserably as they were before they made the change two weeks ago.