Lindbergh: Joe Girardi’s dismissal shows front office is king
From SABR member Ben Lindbergh at The Ringer on October 26, 2017:
On Thursday morning, news broke that longtime Yankees manager Joe Girardi will not return to manage the team in 2018. Although in recent weeks some had speculated that Girardi, whose contract was up, might want to do something different after spending a decade in the dugout in New York, it appears that the decision to part ways was ultimately the Yankees’. Shortly after Girardi announced that the franchise had decided not to bring him back for an 11th season, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman—whose own expiring contract is virtually guaranteed to be renewed—released a statement thanking Girardi for his pinstriped service and acknowledging that the team (reportedly per Cashman’s recommendation) had cut ties.
Girardi, who won a Manager of the Year Award with the Marlins in 2006—and was fired that October for his trouble—never took home the same honor with the Yankees, whose high payroll and history of success make it difficult for a team to far surpass expectations. But Girardi’s 10-year record with the team was, if not Torre-esque, still routinely successful, producing a .562 winning percentage, a 2009 World Series title, six postseason appearances—and, perhaps most impressively, no losing seasons, a feat that’s more impressive than it sounds given the aging, low-ROI rosters he was saddled with as the last remnants of the dynasty years dissipated and the overstressed, underfed farm system was slow to replace them.
Read the full article here: https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2017/10/26/16554274/joe-girardi-yankees-manager-will-not-return
Originally published: October 27, 2017. Last Updated: October 27, 2017.