Red Sox manager Alex Cora doesn't want to follow in footsteps of Terry Francona

"Tito" announced in early October that he was stepping down as manager of the Cleveland Guardians at age 64 following 11 seasons with the club. Francona led Cleveland to six playoff appearances during his tenure, including an AL pennant in 2016, and he won three AL Manager of the Year Awards as well.

Before joining Cleveland, he managed Boston for eight years from 2004-2011, guiding the Red Sox to a pair of World Series titles. Francona was at the helm when the franchise broke the "Curse of the Bambino" in 2004, earning their first championship in 86 years.

Leyland last managed in MLB during the 2013 campaign with the Detroit Tigers. In 22 big league seasons with four different franchises (Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies), Leyland won three pennants, one World Series and three Manager of the Year honors.

He also managed Team USA at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, leading the Americans to the crown. With that victory, Leyland became the only manager to win both a World Series and WBC title.

Cora made his managerial debut with the Red Sox in 2018, leading them to a 108-54 record in the regular season and their fourth championship of the millennium. The team regressed to 84-78 in 2019 before the 48-year-old was implicated in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and Cora and the Red Sox mutually agreed to part ways prior to the 2020 season.

He served a one-year suspension in 2020 and then signed a two-year deal with a two-year option to return to Beantown in 2021. The Red Sox went 92-70 in the regular season and eventually lost to the Astros in that season's ALCS.

The last two seasons have been rough for Boston, as they've posted back-to-back 78-84 marks to finish last in the AL East.