"I wasn’t doing my job the right way" – Reds manager Terry Francona reveals truth about his year away and the unexpected call that brought him back

Terry Francona is back in Major League Baseball after agreeing to become the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Francona acknowledged that he was not doing his job correctly towards the end of his tenure with the Cleveland Guardians, causing him to take a year off.

Now that Terry Francona is back in the game, he will be tasked with leading the Reds back to the playoffs. Francona is currently in Spring Training with the Reds, and he has been open about how his year off impacted him.

On March 6, Francona spoke with the MLB Network and opened up more about his past 18 months.

"It was a great year being away. I needed it, and when you know you needed it, you're probably a little late getting there. I felt like I wasn't doing my job the right way, and it wasn't because I was unhappy with people or anything like that. I just didn't think I was doing the job appropriately," Francona said.

Francona chose to take a break and it wasn't until the Reds called that he even considered getting back in the game.

"I really wasn't thinking about managing, and then the guys from the Reds called," Francona said. "I caught myself early on saying we this, we that."

Francona helped lead the Boston Red Sox to a pair of World Series titles before heading to Cleveland.

Terry Francona gets real about Reds superstar Elly De La Cruz

Terry Francona is inheriting a very talented roster with the Cincinnati Reds, led by superstar Elly De La Cruz. As expected, Francona was asked about his young superstar right away, and gave a glowing review of the shortstop to MLB Network Radio.

“This kid is still 22 years old. He’s a kid that everybody kind of looks at, and he’s the face of our franchise as he should be,” Francona added. "There’s nothing he can’t do. We just got to get him to make the routine play … that’s all part of the maturation process.”

Terry Francona is currently enjoying his time with the Cincinnati Reds, but he will expect his young team to compete in the early part of the season.