Royals manager Matt Quatraro on his special connection with Cleveland’s Terry Francona
If there are two things Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona is known best for, it’s his excellent managerial skills and his love of pranks.
Francona guided a young Guardians team to the American League Central title this season, and he is a finalist for AL manager of the year. And, well, search “Terry Francona Pranks” on Google and you’ll find a number of examples of his playful nature.
New Royals manager Matt Quatraro is expecting some sort of practical joke next year when he’s in the opposite dugout from Francona. The two are friends, and Quatraro said he heard from Francona after being hired by the Royals.
“Some of it was straight comedy and some of it, I mean, there’s genuine care there,” Quatraro said of the conversation. “We have a great relationship. He’s proud, he’s happy. And I really appreciate what he did for me and what he’s done for countless other coaches, too. But yeah, we had a nice talk the other night.”
Quatraro’s playing days ended in 2002 after he had topped out at Triple-A. Two years later, he was hired by the Rays as a coach with their Class A team, Hudson Valley. He was promoted to Hudson Valley’s manager in 2004.
After stints as manager with two other Rays’ Class A affiliates, Quatraro was promoted to minor-league hitting coordinator in 2010.
Quatraro finally reached the big leagues in 2014 when Francona hired him as Cleveland’s assistant hitting coach. After four seasons in the role, Quatraro returned to the Rays, joining Kevin Cash’s big-league staff.
The Royals plucked Quatraro from Tampa Bay, where he had been a bench coach for four seasons, and now he’s tasked with knocking Francona and the Guardians from their perch in the Central.
“That’ll be odd the first time I see him,” Quatraro admitted. “We’ll get to see him in spring training.”
Quatraro expects to be greeted warmly by Francona, along with some tomfoolery.
“He’s pulled some out (pranks) over the years,” Quatraro said. “Yeah, he had some with me when I first went back there. He doesn’t miss much.”
