Official Girardi Press Release

Courtesy of PeteAbe

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.