BOSTON -- We all know him for leading the Red Sox to two World Series championships, but team manager Terry Francona is championing an entirely different cause. He wants to prevent the spread of serious staph infections, and he has a personal reason for doing so.

"I went in for what I thought was a routine arthroscopy and came out of that fighting for, if not my life, my limbs. It spiraled out of control," Francona said.

In 2002, Francona was diagnosed with a serious staph infection after undergoing routine knee surgery. Doctors nearly had to amputate his leg.

"It was very difficult. Once staph gets into your body, it kind of tells you what it's going to do," said Francona.

His scary ordeal put him in the hospital for seven weeks, and set Francona on a mission to help educate the public about how to stop dangerous staph infections. The program is called Strike Out Infection. His involvement has led to changes in some of the Red Sox hygiene routines.

"They have wipes all over the locker rooms so people can wipe down the weights, benches, chairs and so forth," said Maureen Spencer, an infection control manager at New England Baptist Hospital. "Just anything to increase awareness among the players about cross contamination."

Francona said, "From our side of it too, we have to try to use some common sense. Wash your hands when it's appropriate and things like that. Anytime anybody wants to help a cause, it's great. But this is important to me because I lived through it."

Francona said he is optimistic about the team's prospects in the coming season, and he plans to take the Strike Out Infection message on the road as he travels with the Red Sox.

Earlier this week, Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston released a study showing cases of the deadly staph infection MRSA have tripled in the last decade.