Terrence Jon Francona (born April 22, 1959), nicknamed "Tito", is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he was the manager of the Boston Red Sox for eight seasons, whom he led to two World Series titles and ended the franchise's 86-year championship drought. After a four-year stint as the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, Francona was hired to manage the Red Sox in 2004 and led the team to their first championship since 1918. He won another World Series with Boston in 2007 and continued to manage the team until the end of the 2011 season. In 2013, Francona became Cleveland's manager and led them to an American League pennant in 2016. He also led Cleveland to a 22-game win streak during the 2017 season, the longest in American League history and the second-longest in MLB history. Early life Francona was born on April 22, 1959, in Aberdeen, South Dakota, to Tito Francona (1933–2018), who played outfield for several Major League clubs from 1956 to 1970, and Roberta Jackson (1932–1992). Francona grew up in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Pittsburgh, where he got his start in baseball at New Brighton Area High School. Career As a player Francona represented the United States at the 1979 Pan American Games and attended the University of Arizona, where he played college baseball for the Arizona Wildcats baseball team. Francona and the Arizona Wildcats won the 1980 College World Series and Francona was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Francona won the 1980 Golden Spikes Award. Francona was drafted in the first round of the 1980 amateur draft by the Montreal Expos, using the 22nd overall selection. After briefly playing in the minor leagues, Francona made his major league debut with Montreal on August 19, 1981, a week after the end of that summer's player strike. He appeared mainly as an outfielder that first year, and he went 4-for-12 in the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, an extra playoff round utilized that year because the season was conducted in two halves as the result of the strike. The Expos won that series, three games to two. First base As the seasons went on, Francona shifted to first base, where he ultimately played one hundred games more than he had in the outfield. He also developed