Championship manager Tony Franklin proves nice guys do finish first
TRENTON » Tony Franklin’s eyes welled up with tears as he watched the messages play on the scoreboard at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
Former players and colleagues all expressing their gratitude for the beloved manager who had his No. 18 retired by the club on Friday night.
This night, in every way, was the cherry on top for a man who dedicated eight years — an eternity in minor league baseball — to the capital city on the banks of the Delaware River.
“I never imagined this,” Franklin said. “I didn’t think I was worthy for my number to be up there, but don’t get me wrong, it’s such an honor and I’m very humbled by it.” That’s being modest. Franklin’s work here in Trenton speaks for itself. He served as the longest tenured manager in team history and led the club to Eastern League championships in 2007, ’08 and ’13, while winning an EL record 635 games. In 2013, the Thunder became the first team since 1991 to go undefeated in postseason play.
That’s only the on-field success.
“He really became part of the community here in Trenton, doing appearances and getting to know our fans,” said Thunder GM Jeff Hurley, who has been in the organization since Franklin’s first day on the job. “I think that was the huge difference. Tony could have just come here and coached for his eight years, but he really wanted to entrench himself in the community; get to know the staff, get to know the fans, get to know the reporters.”
That’s what made Tony … well, Tony.
“Sunday mornings were the best part of six years there.
You would talk about baseball for five minutes and then life for 40,” said Baseball America writer Josh Norris, who covered the Thunder during six of Franklin’s eight seasons while he was at The Trentonian.
“Tony and I used to sit and talk baseball before every game,” said his Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame colleague Dave Schofield, who presented Franklin with a framed jersey alongside former clubhouse manager Tom ‘Tonto’ Kackley as part of the ceremony. “We said we enjoyed those times because it was just two old timers talking about baseball. It was my favorite time at the ballpark. I’m humbled to be there with the men the like of Tony.”
A native of Compton, Calif., Franklin was a career minor leaguer in four different organizations before he caught on as a manager in the New York Penn League in 1982 at the age
of 32. He was hired by the Yankees in 2007 to manage the Thunder — then the team’s Double-A affiliate.
Franklin remembers that first season starting shortly after he had hip surgery and
limping from the dugout to the third base coaching box as he was playfully chided by season ticket holders who sat along the third-base line.
“These are the things that I think about more than the baseball things,” Franklin said. “The baseball things were great, but it doesn’t compare with the relationships that I established here with the people in the community in Trenton. It may sound corny, but that was the most important thing to me.”
His calling was working with young players. Rising stars as he liked to call them.
“The reason I was here for eight years wasn’t because of what I did,” Franklin said. “The reason I was here for eight years is because of what all of our players did. The winning records, the players who played here who were rising stars at the time, everything kind of fell in place for me.
They made it easy for me to stay here.”
Over 600 hundred wins and three championships later is quite the legacy.
“Is that what it’s called?” Franklin quipped.
“My whole intention was to lead by example, lead with a positive attitude, leave them something they could use in the remainder of their career once they left me,” he said.
Franklin, 72, doesn’t watch much baseball now that he’s retired. After 50 years in the game, he’s got his fill. Plus he made a promise to his family that once he retired he would be there at home after so many years on the road.
“You got to be careful what you promise because you end up doing a lot of house work,” Franklin said. “I’ve had enough baseball. People ask me that all the time and every now and then I’m surfing the channels and somebody interesting is on the mound, (so) I’ll stop and watch, but I don’t make it a point to watch. I made a promise and my promise is to be home.”
For one warm June night in Trenton, baseball was back in his life. Alongside his wife Haiba, best friend Ken Griffey Sr. and a crowd of 6,722 cheering him on, Franklin joined the small club of Tony Clark, Nomar Garciaparra, David Eckstein and his idol Jackie Robinson to have their numbers retired.
Franklin used to say “you should be out there by now,” to players when they were hanging around the clubhouse.
Well, Tony, you should be up there by now.
And you are.
“It’s been a very good career for me,” Franklin said. “I think about it often. All of the memories that come back from time to time, they’re great.”