Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona has had a long, storied career. He managed the Boston Red Sox to two World Series titles, but he still hasn't led the Guardians franchise to the promised land. And after sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays following a marathon victory in Game 2, the Guardians are one step closer to achieving the ultimate goal. However, the New York Yankees, yet again, stand in their way.

With the ALDS tilt between the Guardians and the Yankees set to begin tomorrow at Yankee Stadium, Francona is already bracing for what should be a raucous, sell-out crowd, which is especially riled up these days after Aaron Judge's record-breaking season. In fact, Francona wants the Yankee faithful to be as electric and loud as possible.

“I kind of hope they will,” Francona said, per Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. “This is New York, man. That’s part of the fun of being here.”

Francona has faced the Yankees in the postseason thrice in his career, back in 2004 during the Red Sox' curse-breaking season, and twice in defeat with the then-Indians in 2017 and 2020. The Indians' ALDS loss in 2017 will be especially painful even up to this day, after the Indians won 102 games on the back of their AL-record 22-game winning streak.

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Nonetheless, Terry Francona knows what playoff baseball is all about. It is about who can deliver amidst the bright lights of October. It is about who can tune out the noise and cast a singular focus towards making the requisite efforts to win.

Even if a rowdy away crowd could be to the detriment of his team, and even if some insults from them can be classified as hurtful, Francona appreciates how Yankees fans fuel the players' passions over the years, even amidst major changes.

“It’s not like maybe the old Yankee Stadium. But shoot, in the old stadium, you almost wore it as like a badge of honor. During national anthem, people would be like ripping me for (the size) of my nose, the lack of hair. Like I said, it was kind of fun,” Francona added.

Terry Francona will be hoping that the Guardians continue playing the same way they did against the Rays despite now playing away from Progressive Field. Against the Rays, they strung together clutch hit after clutch hit while their pitching remained lights out and they will look to sustain these kinds of performances against the Yankees.