Yankees make it official
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Oct 30, 2007 
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This press release from the Yankees:
YANKEES NAME JOE GIRARDI 32ND MANAGER IN FRANCHISE HISTORY; SIGNED TO A THREE-YEAR CONTRACT THROUGH THE 2010 SEASON
The Yankees announced today that they have named Joe Girardi the 32nd manager in franchise history, signing him to a three-year contract which extends through the 2010 season. He becomes the 17th Yankees manager to have played for the club and the fourth former Yankees catcher to skipper the team, joining Bill Dickey, Ralph Houk and Yogi Berra. At 43 years old, Girardi becomes the third-youngest manager in the Major Leagues, behind the Washington Nationals’ Manny Acta (38) and the Cleveland Indians’ Eric Wedge (39).
Girardi was the 2006 National League “Manager of the Year,� guiding the Florida Marlins to a 78-84 record in his only season as a Major League manager. With the award, he matched the Houston Astros’ Hal Lanier (1986) and the San Francisco Giants’ Dusty Baker (1993) as the only managers to win the honor in their managerial debuts. In 2005, he served as the New York Yankees’ Bench Coach and Catching Instructor in his coaching debut.
In 15 Major League seasons as a catcher, Girardi played for the Chicago Cubs (1989-92 and 2000-02), Colorado Rockies (1993-95), New York Yankees (1996-99) and St. Louis Cardinals (2003). He was originally selected by the Cubs in the fifth round of the 1986 draft and went on to appear in six career postseasons, winning World Series titles with the Yankees in 1996, 1998, and 1999. In 1,277 career Major League games, he batted .267 (1,100-for-4,127) with 454 runs, 186 doubles, 36 home runs and 422 RBI, finishing with a .991 career fielding percentage while throwing out 27.6% of potential base stealers. He was named to the National League All-Star team in 2000 while playing with the Cubs.
As a Yankee, Girardi was behind the plate for Dwight Gooden’s no-hitter on 5/14/96 vs. Seattle and David Cone’s perfect game on 7/18/99 vs. Montreal. In Game 6 of the 1996 World Series vs. Atlanta, Girardi tripled in the game’s first run in a three-run third inning as the Yankees clinched their first World Championship since 1978 with a 3-2 victory.
A native of Peoria, Ill., Girardi was a three-time academic All-American and two-time All-Big Ten selection at Northwestern University, graduating with a degree in industrial engineering in 1986. Following his retirement as a player in 2004, Girardi joined the YES Network as an analyst and won an Emmy Award for hosting YES’ “Kids on Deck� series. In 2006, he rejoined YES, working as an analyst on Yankees broadcasts. He and his wife, Kim, have three children, Serena, Dante and Lena.
sweet !
Very sweet !
Girardi will be a great manager !
hello, first time poster but long time reader. it’s great that Giradi is the new manager. any idea what number he’ll be wearing?
The countdown starts now for Girardi. Can he survive 1 year in NewYork????
Hopefully we can announce some players signing, soon.
OK, I like Girardi. He will probably do a great job. But the notion that he is more experienced than Mattingly is a *little* bit funny, isn’t it? He managed for one year and it was a team with a LOSING record. I realize that the year was a success for the Marlins and all, but it isn’t like he brings exponentially more experience than Mattingly.
I hope Joe has a good year and I *really* hope that the Yanks have a great year. I will also be rooting for the Dodgers in my spare time.
Girardi likes to watch CSI and Law Order. On wednesday, Girardi tends his garden. His favorite color is purple and his favorite movie is “Die Hard”
Hey Oete:
Great job as always. When will reporters get a shot at him via CC or press conference. There is tons that I’m dying to know.
Now get Girardi some pitching.
Santana would be nice.
is there a press conference scheduled?
when is the press conference?
I guess St. Joe did not think it was insulting to negotiate with the Dodgers when Little was still employed there. As each day goes by, the more pleased I am he’ll be 3000 miles away from our young arms. His dignity/insult act is really getting stale with me.
Mattingly’s never managed a team, so, yeah the notion that Girardi is more experienced is correct.
Cashman has all the power now. Let’s see if he can get creative here and add a power hitter, 3b, 1b, and some arms.
430PM conference call per ESPN/WFAN etc etc
Congrats Joe!
I think Mattingly will be a good manager someday.
I think Girardi will be a special manager soon.
Well put Parker. I agree with your opinion.
“I guess St. Joe did not think it was insulting to negotiate with the Dodgers when Little was still employed there.”
ummmm…..Joe Girardi was still negotiating with the Dodgers yesterday, even though the yankees offered him a contract
They already got Girardi some pitching, they’re named Hughes, Chamberlain and Kennedy, and there’s more on the way from whence they came.
Busy hour for Pete.
Mattingly conference call at 4pm followed by Girardi at 4:30. Now all we need is Hank to critique the 2 conference calls at 5 and sports writers will have tomorrows stories put to bed by 6.
What’s the word on his coaching staff. I heard ESPN mention Paul O’Neill has not ruled out a coaching positionon Joe’s staff.
I’m bummed that Mattingly isn’t manager. I’m bummed that A-Rod is gone. I’m bummed that the Yanks lost to Cleveland. And I’m mortified that the Sox destroyed the Rox. On the bright side, there’s always Iraq.
Even though the odds are infintesimal I can’t help but think how incredible a Yankke – Dodger World series would be in ’08.
pete is there any word on the Mariano negotiations, i read on the daily news blog that he and his agents had met with the yankee brass this AM – thanks
it is true that Paul O’Neill might be on the coaching staff?
Congrats be to Joe G. the Yankee Skipper!
Have a great season Joey G.
Excellent choice!!
I believe the Yankees are in excellent hands with Hank, Brian, Damon and now Joe G at the helm.
Plenty of reason for Yankee fan optimism.
Montana Mike,
what are you crazy? you are the only fan of the Yankees that is “bummed” that AROD is leaving! and maybe this is better for Donnie Baseball, b/c it would have been worse if the Yankees had to fire him, that would have to take the cake!
‘Know what’s cool about Girardi’s hiring besides it happening?
Assuming he makes $2.5M/yr. for 3 years, the Yanks clear
$5M for ’08 by hiring him ($7.5M Torre made this year – $2.5M Girardi will make next year)!
Mo made $10.5M this year. The Yanks could offer him 3 years
@ $13M/yr. = $39M – 5M cleared from hiring Girardi = $34M.
Nice!
I have to admit a good deal of my current level of interest in my life-long teams (knicks, giants, yankees, rangers) is a product of the coach/manager. i’ve followed the yankees these past several years more than ever; i haven’t paid any attention to the knicks for quite a while. i miss joe t, am disappointed we won’t see donnie, but can’t wait to see joe g’s team next season. go yanks.
I love ESPN message boards and Red Sox fans posting how Cashman has sabotaged the team with his hunger for big bat FA signings and no concern for pitching.
You just gotta laugh.
listening to the conference call right now, joe seems to be dealing with the media very well which to me was one of the problems with him.
i’m looking forward to next season now
“Schilling said the only team he would not consider is the Yankees. But he expected Lowell to draw interest from New York, where he started in the minor leagues in 1997.”
from ESPN.com
gee darn, b/c we so wanted you in our rotation Curt!
here’s what Schilling said about M. Lowell being a free agent:
“Let’s do the math: When you’re a free agent and the Yankees are not only in the mix, but now one of the potentially most interested suitors, the price changes. And that’s not a bad thing for him.”
so interesting to me….I didn’t know we were the most interested!
To me, Girardi was the right choice. I know Donnie said he “managed alot of games in his head”…that doesn’t quite cut it here. Look at it this way…Donnie is atill a young guy…Brady Little has resigned from the Dodgers. And Mattingly’s son was drafted by the Dodger organization. So in that respect…Girardi, Torre, and Donnie prolly all have jobs. So no one was left out in the cold. To me as a Yankee fan…that’s pretty good.
ooops!…Grady Little…my bad!!! LOL