Girardi's Greatest Loss

Baseball games are won and lost, and when it comes right down to it, don't mean all that much in life. Especially when you've lost a loved one.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi has a delicate balancing act to deal with after the passing of his father Jerry this past Saturday. Girardi notified the media this afternoon that his Dad had lost a long the battle with Alzheimer's Disease.

Girardi was extremely close to his Dad and visited him as often as possible, especially after his diagnosis more than a decade ago. While the decision to manage the playoffs was a tough one, Girardi knew what his Dad would want him to do -"to finish the job at hand."¹ Girardi has been part of championship teams that had the manager or players go through similar odysseys.

Joe Torre learned of the passing of his brother Rocco in 1996 while managing a doubleheader in Cleveland. The Yankees captured their first World Series title in 18 years that Fall, while another of Torre's brothers, Frank, underwent a heart transplant.

The 1999 championship team saw Luis Sojo, Scott Brosius, and Paul O'Neill all lose their fathers during the season, with O'Neill's Dad passing away during the World Series.

Playing the game is usually what an athlete will choose to do in times of crisis, much as the average person's use their job as a distraction from tough times.

My condolences go out to Joe, his Kim, and three children, as well as the entire Girardi family.

To find out how you can help support research into Alzheimer's Disease, go to alz.org.

1- Quote from ESPN.com

Girardi Managing Heartache

Joe Girardi will be entering his 1st spring training as Yankees manager with some mixed feelings. No, not about being the manager, about leaving his father behind. Jerry Girardi suffers from Alzheimer's and has been steadily declining over the last couple of years. A once robust man, he's 40 pounds lighter since he forgets to eat most of the time.

When Girardi got ready to leave Illinois to head south a couple of weeks ago, he went to see his Dad, who is a resident in an assisted-care facility. When he left he knew it might be the last time he saw the man who influenced his life so much.

“He doesn’t talk,” Girardi said. “But I felt like there were two seconds when I left and said, ‘I love you, Dad,’ he responded. He said, ‘I like you.’ I just felt like he looked at me different for two seconds. That’s big for me.”

“It was like there was a connection, which, in a sense, scares me because I think that maybe he’s close,” Girardi said. “But having him say it gave me a good feeling.”

Girardi barely held back tears as he spoke to NY Times reporter Jack Curry about his Dad's ordeal. He then went on to talk about how much managing the Yankees means to him, the differences between his style and that of Joe Torre, whom he deeply respects and admires.

Registration is required, but this is well worth the trouble.

Girardi Managing Heartache

Joe Girardi will be entering his 1st spring training as Yankees manager with some mixed feelings. No, not about being the manager, about leaving his father behind. Jerry Girardi suffers from Alzheimer's and has been steadily declining over the last couple of years. A once robust man, he's 40 pounds lighter since he forgets to eat most of the time.

When Girardi got ready to leave Illinois to head south a couple of weeks ago, he went to see his Dad, who is a resident in an assisted-care facility. When he left he knew it might be the last time he saw the man who influenced his life so much.

“He doesn’t talk,” Girardi said. “But I felt like there were two seconds when I left and said, ‘I love you, Dad,’ he responded. He said, ‘I like you.’ I just felt like he looked at me different for two seconds. That’s big for me.”

“It was like there was a connection, which, in a sense, scares me because I think that maybe he’s close,” Girardi said. “But having him say it gave me a good feeling.”

Girardi barely held back tears as he spoke to NY Times reporter Jack Curry about his Dad's ordeal. He then went on to talk about how much managing the Yankees means to him, the differences between his style and that of Joe Torre, whom he deeply respects and admires.

Registration is required, but this is well worth the trouble.