Guardians’ Terry Francona all smiles as Cleveland police find and return ‘the hog’
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Guardians manager Terry Francona couldn’t have been happier when Cleveland police recovered his stolen scooter on Tuesday night.
“It became a little bigger news than it needed to be, but I’m really happy to have it back,” said Francona on Wednesday night at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards dinner. “That’s my mode of transportation.”
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Cleveland police returned the scooter to Francona at Progressive Field on Wednesday afternoon. The scooter was recovered a couple of miles from Francona’s downtown apartment. Whoever took it pushed it the whole way.
“I’ve never locked it in 11 years in Cleveland, but I might have to start,” said Francona.
This is the second time the scooter, affectionately called “the hog” by Francona, has been stolen. Francona said the first time it was only moved down the street.
Francona discovered the scooter was missing Saturday morning when he left his apartment and was ready to ride it to the Huntington Convention Center for Guards Fest.
As for the police returning it to Progressive Field, Francona said, “It was really cool. It runs better now than it did before.”
It was a good night for the Guardians at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Besides Francona’s scooter being recovered, third baseman Jose Ramirez received the Professional Athlete of the Year award and the Guardians were honored with the Best Moment in Cleveland Sports for 2022 with Francona accepting the award from Guardians announcers Matt Underwood and Al Pawlowski.
Nick Chubb of the Browns and Jarrett Allen of the Cavs were Ramirez’s competition.
Ramirez is recovering from surgery on his right thumb. He did not attend the dinner, but sent a video message from the Dominican Republic.
“He’s doing great,” said Francona. “He’s been hitting for a while now. We reserve the right to be cautious (at the start of spring training), but I think he’ll be fine.”
It’s still uncertain if Ramirez will play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic in March.
On Sunday, Francona, who has lost about 20 pounds since the end of last season, will be in New York City to receive the AL Manager of the Year award at New York’s annual Baseball Writers Association of America’s banquet. It is the third time he’s received the award.
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