Tribe’s Francona underwent surgeries during health scare

CLEVELAND (AP) — Terry Francona’s mind briefly wandered to a life without baseball while he battled through a major health scare. Retirement stared him in the face. “Some days when I was extremely frustrated, the thought crossed my mind,” the Indians manager said. “When it was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I tried not to think like that.”

Francona revealed Wednesday that he underwent several surgeries in a four-day span and required an extended stay in intensive care at the Cleveland Clinic while dealing with medical issues that sidelined him for all but 14 games this season.

The 61-year-old Francona, who plans to return in 2021, said he’s relieved to have the ordeal, which beat him up mentally and physically, behind him.

After initially undergoing a surgery for a gastrointestinal issue that had bothered him for nearly a year, Francona thought he was recovering when some blood-clotting issues led to more operations and four days in ICU.

“It was kind of a rough time,” Francona said on a Zoom call from his home in Arizona. “For a couple weeks there I was not just away from the game, I was away from everything. It was getting a little hairy there.”

Francona feels much better and he intends to spend the next two months getting stronger so he he come back for an eight season with the Indians.

Francona, who has had both knees replaced as well as one of his hips, said he needs surgery on his other hip but not until he’s healthier.