Slimmed down and refreshed from a year in retirement from managing, Terry Francona didn't know if he wanted to do the job again. In need of a new skipper, the Reds didn't know if they could get Francona to join the club.

Both sides got their answers rather quickly once president of baseball operations Nick Krall and general manager Brad Meador visited Francona at his home in Tucson, Ariz., last week and they spoke for around five hours. “My palms were sweating. I wanted to put my uniform on. It just felt right," Francona said.