Elephant Jockey Race In Goodyear

Terry Francona held his normal pre-game meeting with the press in the Cleveland Indian press area on Sunday morning.

Above his head was a muted TV showing ESPN's documentary on Marge Schott.

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Francona and his opposing counter part with the Seattle Mariners was Lloyd McClendon, played for the Reds in 1987, three years after Schott bought the franchise.

Francona recalled riding an elephant at one of Schott's famous benefits held at her home to raise funds for the Cincinnati Zoo.  All the Reds players were required to attend and a special few had to ride Schatzie the Elephant.

Francona was one of them.

"Oh yeah, I road the elephant," Francona recalled. "If you weren't good enough to say no, you had to ride the elephant.  I wasn't good enough. I don't remember how I got on the thing."

It was Francona's only season in Cincinnati.  If you go strictly by the numbers, Francona was the very essence of an elephant jockey.  He hit .227 with three home runs and 12 RBI in 102 games under Pete Rose.

There is a very good chance that McClendon got in the saddle too. He hit .208 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 45 games as a catcher.