Tito and Terry Francona happily shared baseball lives

which I don’t always do. I just had a feeling something wasn’t right. He seemed tired. I think he was tired of everything he had to do, the medication and all that. Then he looked at me and said, ‘I’ve done it all.’ “

Tito Francona wasn’t exaggerating.

It’s a long way from New Brighton to the big leagues; at least that’s what we thought in my hometown of Beaver Falls, which is just across the Beaver River from New Brighton. Before Mazeroski, Clemente and Stargell, Tito Francona was our backyard sports hero. If he could make it big, why couldn’t we?

Francona spent 15 bigleague seasons with nine clubs before retiring as a .272 career hitter after the 1970 season. He hit .363 for the Indians in 1959 — the year his son was born — and finished fifth in the American League MVP voting. He led the league in doubles in 1960 and made the All-Star team in 1961 when he led the league in singles.

But Francona’s greatest times in baseball, by far, still were to come. As much as he loved his career, he enjoyed seeing his son’s success more. If you are a parent, you understand.

Terry Francona, who will be 59 April 22, played nine years in the big leagues with five teams and hit .274 before persistent knee problems forced him to retire in 1990. His greatest success came as a manager. He is the best in the game since Jim Leyland retired and is 25th on the alltime wins list with 1,483. Francona’s big break came in 1994, when he managed Michael Jordan at Class AA Birmingham, leading to unprecedented coverage and scrutiny for a minor league manager. He then failed with the Philadelphia Phillies before doing the unimaginable by leading the Boston Red Sox to two World Series titles, the first in 2004 ending 86 years of Boston baseball heartbreak. He’s still going strong with the Indians. His 2016 team lost to the Chicago Cubs in 10 innings in Game 7 of the World Series. Last season’s team won 102 games, including an American League-record 22 in a row, before coming up short against the New York Yankees in the divisional playoffs. This season’s team is expected to compete with the Houston Astros and Yankees for the American League pennant.

Coming to the Indians before the start of the 2013 season might have been Francona’s best career move. He has had his own heart and circulatory problems and Cleveland provides a less stressful atmosphere than Boston. Being with the Indians also enabled his dad to frequently make the drive across the Turnpike from New Brighton to watch his kid’s team play. Tito Francona threw out the first pitch before Terry’s first game in 2013, then again before Game 1 of the 2016 divisional playoffs. Google the pictures. It’s impossible to tell who’s happier.

Terry Francona often said his mother, Roberta, who passed away in 1992, was his biggest fan. “She’d complain to me about why they didn’t pick me for the All-Star team. I’d say, ‘Ma, I’m hitting .220. I don’t even start on my own team.’ “But there’s no doubt that Francona’s love for baseball came from his dad. “The majority of whatever I do know, or what I care about, came from him. I care about the game. I respect the game. I love the game because of my dad. I guarantee you that. He taught me to care about baseball so deeply …

“I was lucky to have two great parents. Maybe I didn’t realize it at the time, but, as you get older, you see that’s not always the case. Not everybody is as lucky as I was.”

I was working at the Beaver County Times in 1981 when Francona made his big-league debut with the Montreal Expos. I rode to Three Rivers Stadium with Tito, Roberta and their daughter, Amy, when Terry played in Pittsburgh for the first time. He was 0 for 3 in a 3-2 Expos win, but that’s not what I remember. The love and pride in that car were palpable. Nothing made Tito Francona happier than being known as “Terry’s dad.”

I reminded Francona of that at the funeral home. I told him I learned a long time ago the greatest gift we can give our parents is to make them proud. I told him I hoped he could find comfort from the fact he succeeded in a big way.

Francona just smiled, tears in his eyes. Then it was back to work. Francona rejoined the Indians at their spring training base in Goodyear, Ariz. His players are his family, too. A new season looms. Much needs to be done.

There is no place Francona would rather be. “This is where I belong.” Like father, like son.