best."

Francona joined the Indians after a wildly successful run in Boston, where he helped the Red Sox end their 86-year World Series title drought in 2004. He led them to another championship in 2007 before his stretch ended in 2011.

Cleveland was a new beginning, and a familiar place, as his father played six seasons for the Indians.

"I will say this: I have no ambition to ever work somewhere else," said Francona, who will turn 60 later this month. "There's going to come a time when I can't do this job the way I want to, because of age. That may happen some point, but I don't have any ambition to ever go somewhere else and that's because of the people here."

If he stays around three more seasons, andthere's little reason to think he won't, Francona will surpass Lou Boudreau for the longest managerial run with the Indians. Boudreau, who was also an All-Star shortstop, managed the Indians from 1942 to 1950. He led them to their last Series title in 1948.

The Indians are an AL-best 547-427 (.562) since 2013 under Francona. His 1,576 career wins with Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland are second most among current major league managers, behind San Francisco's Bruce Bochy.

Francona said a key to his success in Cleveland has been the strong relationships he built with Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff. Francona can be himself, and that in turn has made him a stronger communicator and manager.

"I know it's made me a better person," he said. "We collaborate so much. And