Yankees re-sign Manager Joe Girardi to a four-year contract through the 2017 season
The New York Yankees announced today they have re-signed Manager Joe Girardi to a four-year contract, extending through the 2017 season. The 48-year-old Girardi has guided the team to the postseason in four of his six seasons at the helm, winning the franchise's 27th World Championship in 2009. Under Girardi, the Yankees have gone a Major League-best 564-408 (.580) since 2008.
Over his first six years as manager of the Yankees (2008-13), the club has led the Majors in home runs (1,236), while ranking second in runs scored (4,884) and seventh in hits (8,836) and batting average (.265). The Yankees have also committed the fewest errors (484) in the Majors over the span, with a Major League-high .986 team fielding percentage.
In 2013, Girardi guided the Yankees to an 85-77 finish, tied with Baltimore for the third-best record in the American League East. He recorded his 500th win as Yankees manager on May 10 at Kansas City in his 844th game as skipper of the club, becoming the fifth-fastest manager in club history to reach the milestone behind Casey Stengel (790 games), Joe McCarthy (796 games), Joe Torre (833 games) and Miller Huggins (833 games). The club made just 69 errors in 2013, the third-lowest total in the Majors and tying the franchise record for fewest in a season (also 2010). Their .988 fielding percentage set a new franchise record, fractionally better than their .988 mark in 2010.
In 2009, Girardi became the ninth Yankees manager to win a World Series, and just the fourth to do so in his postseason managerial debut, joining Ralph Houk, Bob Lemon and Casey Stengel. He also joined Houk and Billy Martin as the only Yankees to play for and manage a Yankees World Championship team. At 45 years old in 2009, Girardi became the youngest manager in Yankees history to win a World Series and the fourth-youngest in the Majors to do so since 1980 behind the White Sox's Ozzie Guillen (2005), the Mets' Davey Johnson (1986) and Minnesota's Tom Kelly (1987 and '91).
Joe Girardi was the fifth-youngest manager in the Major Leagues in 2013, behind Houston's Bo Porter (41), St. Louis' Mike Matheny (43), Seattle's Eric Wedge (45) and Chicago-AL's Robin Ventura (46). He owns a 642-492 (.566) career managerial record, trailing only Sparky Anderson (683), Frank Chance (662), Al Lopez (660) and Joe McCarthy (643) for the most wins by any manager in his first seven years at the helm (credit: Elias).
Girardi was named the 32nd manager of the New York Yankees on October 30, 2007, becoming 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. In 2005, he served as the New York Yankees' Bench Coach and Catching Instructor in his coaching debut.
In 2006, Girardi was named the National League "Manager of the Year" after guiding the Florida Marlins to a 78-84 record in his first 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 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 May 14, 1996 vs. Seattle and David Cone's perfect game on July 18, 1999 vs. Montreal. In World Series Game 6 vs. Atlanta on October 26, 1996, he 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 2007, he rejoined YES, working as an analyst on Yankees broadcasts, and also appeared in the booth with FOX during regular season and postseason broadcasts. He and his wife, Kim, have three children, Serena, Dante and Lena.