Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka throws in the first inning of last night’s ALCS contest against the Rays.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Forget all the mundane reality TV shows that people can’t get enough. If you want something real, TV producers should have Red Sox management battle Rays management in the Newlywed Game.

It would be interesting to see how the Sox’ Theo Epstein and Terry Francona would do against the Rays’ Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon.

Both management teams have their respective clubs in the ALCS for a number of reasons. Both have talented players. Both have strong minor-league systems. But without a strong working relationship between the respective general managers and their managers, it would be very difficult to be as successful as both clubs are.

If the show’s host, Bob Eubanks, asked how each would describe their relationships, the answer cards would read as follows.

“Ideal,” said Epstein.

“Outstanding,” said Francona.

“Tremendous,” said Maddon.

“Tremendous,” said Friedman.

Epstein hired Francona before the 2004 season. It didn’t take long for the pair to form the type of relationship that helped the club win its first World Series in 86 years.

“We know each other pretty well at this point,” Epstein said. “I know the way he likes to run a game, and he knows my thoughts. There’s good synergy. . . . We talk everything through.”

Maddon is in his third season as skipper of the Rays. He, along with Friedman, has helped the Rays, perennial cellar dwellers, emerge into the postseason for the first time in franchise history.

“We have a tremendous working relationship,” Friedman said. “Communication is a big part of that. We don’t always agree, but I encourage him to disagree and we work in a productive manner. I view him as part of our management team. Our relationship has benefited us greatly because of the consistency.”

When Epstein interviewed Francona for the manager’s job, one of the questions the GM asked was what type of relationship would he want with his boss. Francona responded and then asked Epstein the same question.

“We both wanted the type of relationship, where we felt implicit trust with open communication,” Epstein said. “We can say anything we want to each other, and that developed pretty quickly, actually. It’s pretty rare.”

On the other side of the interview table, Francona was quickly impressed with the genuine impression of loyalty and honest that Epstein has shown.

“We have the ability to be bluntly honest with each,” Francona said. “We can agree and we can disagree. But we’ll figure it out. At the same time, when the chips are down, I know where I can go, and that’s a good feeling.”

Maddon and Friedman had a similar interview process. The two met at a hotel in Houston. It was so natural that Maddon believes the two clicked right from the start. The GM agrees, but also conceded it was a work in progress.

“It’s one of those things you don’t ever really know until it plays out,” Friedman said. “During an interview process, at most you can get 70 percent of a person. You can’t fully appreciate someone and how it’s going to work, and how you will compliment each other until you do it. It’s been as good as I could have ever hoped for.”

Maddon, who was a finalist for the Red Sox job that eventually went to Francona, said he was impressed with Epstein during his interview in Boston. But when he first met Friedman, the connection was almost immediate.

“I had a good vibe from the moment I met him,” Maddon said. “He’s very astute. When it comes to evaluating a player, you would think he’s been scouting for 15-20 years. He’s really good at breaking down players. I knew we would be compatible.”

The Boston market is more cutthroat than it is in Tampa. Not because the baseball is different, but because of outside distractions. There’s more scrutiny surrounding the Red Sox, and the pressure to win every game is great. In such an environment, both manager and GM have to make it work.

“Usually when a team starts to lose, the GM is trying to get the manager fired, and the manager is trying to get the GM fired,” Epstein joked. “I could never, in a million years, see that being the case here. I know he’s got my back, and he knows I’ve got his. Once you established that, you can put your heads together to try to figure out how to get better as an organization.”

There used to be an old-school train of thought that unless you grew up around the game or played the game at the professional, you didn’t know too much about the game. Now in an age of seasoned managers joined with young executives, that’s not the case anymore.

Boston and Tampa have proven that.

In 2002, Epstein became the youngest person in baseball history, at 28, to be appointed as a club’s GM. Two years later, he became the youngest GM to win a World Series.

Francona, 49, has been around the majors all his life as the son of a former major-leaguer. He said the age difference doesn’t matter, because both want to win.

Francona and Epstein went out to dinner the night of the interview. It was when they were breaking bread together that it was obvious their relationship would prosper. Winning two World Series, and on the verge of another possible trip to the Fall Classic, is proof of that.

“We hit it off pretty well,” said Epstein. “There are no obstacles.”

Friedman, 31, believes it’s not an issue either with Maddon, 54.

“It’s not an issue. I think I act older than he does, anyway,” Friedman joked.

Both organizations have proven to be a solid baseball marriage.

“When we carry out something, we do it together,” Francona said. “We always have.”

jmcdonal@projo.com