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Champion

Joe Girardi played 14 seasons in the big leagues as a catcher with the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals. During his major league career he earned an All-Star selection in 2000 and helped the Yankees to three World Series titles in 1996, 1998 and 1999.

In his second season at the helm in 2009 he led the Bronx Bombers to their 40th pennant and 27th World Series title in franchise history. Since that time he has led the Yankees to a 910-710 record in seven seasons through 2017. 

MOTIVATION

When Joe Girardi gave his first speech to the Yankees team as a whole, he spoke about discipline, accountability and work ethic. He also characterized the Yankees as a family in which everyone takes care of each other.

The benefit and burden of Yankee tradition, according to Girardi, can be captured with one word he professes to embrace: “expectations.”

  • “He wasn’t that super player, so he had to fight for everything. He had to do things differently, he had to do things better, and that’s what made him the way he was and the way he is, because he had to fight for it.”

    Mariano Rivera

  • “When he was here in ’96, he said, ‘Don’t lose your job because somebody’s working harder than you.’ I think that says it all.”

    Jorge Posada

  • “He really got the most out of his ability. He did it by working extremely hard and paying attention to detail, and I think that’s the type of manager he is. He wants us to work hard, he wants us to pay attention to detail.”

    Derek Jeter