Michael Holley is a sports radio talk show host for 850 WEEI-AM in Boston, MA and author of three Boston-related sports books, most notably the New York Times nonfiction best seller Patriot Reign and Never Give Up, an autobiography co-written with its main subject, New England Patriots linebacker and stroke survivor Tedy Bruschi.
For his latest and third project, Red Sox Rule: Terry Francona And Boston’s Rise To Dominance, Holley spent just over a year – December 2006 to January 2008 to be exact – meeting with and getting to personally know Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona. His stated aim was to learn about the man who led this storied franchise to its first World Series championship in 86 years (in 2004). By the time Mr. Holley finished writing this book, the Sox had won it all again (in October of 2007).
The first thing you need to keep in mind about Red Sox Rule is that it is a “semi-biography” of Terry Francona’s life, not a comprehensive guide to how the Red Sox became a so-called dominant franchise. Second, the book’s title was the product of the publisher, not the author because, as Holley tells me via an email, he’s bad at naming his books, so he now leaves it to others to title his writing. Thus, the misleading, nonsensical title of this book.
If there’s one common thread in all three of his books, it’s that Holley does a masterful job of revealing the personal side of his main subjects (Pats head coach Bill Belichick, Bruschi, Francona). However, it’s often the revelations of how winning teams are put together and in-game strategies — the thinking behind that key 8th inning pitching change or play-calling sequence in a game-winning 4th quarter drive — that draws many fans to books about winning sports franchises. Patriot Reign was popular for this very reason.
But the personal journey of an athlete or coach’s success can be equally as powerful and engaging a read. With this Francona-centered book, you get a healthy mix of the personal and the professional, including the manager’s personal stories of life as a healthy and recurring injury-plagued ballplayer, the friends and close family –- including his former big leaguer father Tito — that helped him along the way, as well as recollections and facts regarding his managerial stints in the major and minor leagues.
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