Why June 2025 could be a special month for newly hired Reds manager Terry Francona

When a manager as storied as Terry Francona comes out of retirement, every game has the potential to be historic. But the Cincinnati Reds’ new manager may have his eye on the month of June as one for the record books. If the stars align, that one month could be the defining period of Francona’s career.

At the very least, June will feature two homecomings. First, the Reds will travel to Cleveland to revive the intrastate rivalry. Francona’s defection to Cincinnati after an emotional farewell tour with the Guardians was the latest in a string of tense moments between the teams. Although the Reds will play the Guardians at Great American Ball Park in May, the three-game series from June 9-11 will be Francona’s grand return to Progressive Field, which he called home for 11 seasons.

New Reds manager Terry Francona will return to his old stomping grounds to play the Guardians & Red Sox in June

Three weeks later, the Reds travel to Boston for a three-game set against the Red Sox from June 30-July 2. Previous returns to Fenway have been… well, complicated. Like when Boston chose to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the 2007 World Series run, which Francona led, on the day before the former manager’s team came to town.

If those reunions weren’t enough, it is very likely that the month of June will also see Francona’s 2,000th win. Tito needs just 50 wins to achieve the feat, and considering his superlative record as a manager, the Reds could see him there and beyond in 2025. 

Exactly when will this happen? Well, if Cincinnati posts the .475 winning percentage that it had in 2024, Francona will have to wait until after the All-Star break, approximately 105 games, to reach the mark. However, Francona’s career winning percentage of .538 would place the big game during the Reds’ final homestand prior to the break.

If the Reds start hot, though, and carry a .589 win percentage into the month of June, Francona could celebrate this milestone in front of the Fenway faithful on the last day of the month or even earlier. That pace would not be unprecedented for Tito’s teams. His Red Sox surpassed that win percentage in 2004 and 2007, and we all know what happened then.

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