Before the Red Sox played the Yankees this afternoon, former Red Sox skipper and current ESPN analyst Terry Francona chatted with his former players.

Francona sat next to Dustin Pedroia and Cody Ross and they started chatting. Then more and more Sox players started to join the trio.

Eventually Nick Punto, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, David Ortiz, Clay Buchholz, and bench coach Tim Bogar ended up talking with Francona for about 45 minutes.

Adrian Gonzalez and Felix Doubront briefly greeted Francona before starting their pregame routine.

This reunion wasn't the first for Francona as a commentator but it was the longest. He limited his contact with his former players the previous visits.

Under Francona's regime, the Sox ended the Curse of the Bambino in 2004 and won another World Series in 2007. He collected a record of 744-552 in his seven years at the helm.