Article:Continuity in Beantown?

Is it possible? Could there actually be stability and continuity in one of the most volatile jobs in sports?

With Terry Francona about to manage his fifth straight season opener for the Boston Red Sox and a contract extension already in hand, it appears that the days of the revolving door BoSox manager are over.

How unstable a gig is this?

Consider the fact that when Tito handles that fifth straight season opener next week, he’ll become just the third Red Sox skipper to be at the helm for that many consecutive openers since the end of the War. That would be the Second World War, by the way.

Only Mike Higgins (1954-1959) and Jimy “one M” Williams  (1997-2001) can claim that rare feat among BoSox managers.

Before all is said and done — especially given his contract extension — Francona could become the second-longest serving Red Sox manager ever, behind only the legendary Joe Cronin, who held the job from 1935 to 1947.

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