The season that the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox are having aren’t exactly going as planned, as both teams find themselves in the cellar of their respective divisions—even though both were predicted to have bounce back campaigns.
And while sports is nearly always about winning and losing, we’re reminded that it’s truly not life or death, as circumstances come up that put things into perspective.
One of those things, unfortunately, happened last week to Red Sox manager John Farrell, who announced that he would be leaving the team after being diagnosed with Stage 1 lymphoma.
John Farrell said Terry Francona will accompany him to 1st chemotherapy session Tue. What a great show of friendship and support. #RedSox
— Tom Caron (@TomCaron) August 16, 2015
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Through such a difficult time, there isn’t anything like a good friend by your side to help keep your spirits high, which is exactly what Indians manager Terry Francona (formerly of the Red Sox) is doing, accompanying Farrell to his first chemo treatment.
Knowing each other since 1988 when they were former teammates, the two have quite the history together, as Farrell served as the BoSox pitching coach during the 2007 World Series season that Francona was the manager of.
Hell, anytime they get a chance to joke with one another, as this video shows, they do it.
Francona took a different, more serious tone, according to Cleveland.com, though, knowing that he’s forced to try and inspire his good buddy:
“I have no doubt that he will beat the hell out of this … probably with one hand tied behind his back. He’s so upbeat and he’s such a tough guy. And he has so many people who care about him. I honestly feel like he will come through this with flying colors.”
This is a hell of an act of kindness, support and sportsmanship from Francona, knowing full well that it’s the little things that can make the difference in easing his good buddy’s mind.