"Joe Girardi is a true athletic powerhouse. He has grown from a little-known journeyman catcher into a true leader – universally liked and respected, and known for being well-spoken and intelligent." - ("About Joe Girardi", 2013)

Peoria, IL born Joseph Elliott Girardi played 15 seasons as a major league catcher, with a total of 1,277 games. He first reached the majors with the Cubs in 1989, the year they won a surprise division title on the back of great rookie seasons by CF Jerome Walton and LF Dwight Smith, and the late-game antics of closer Mitch Williams.

Joe won three World Series championships with the Yankees as a player in the 1990s and served as the catcher for both Dwight Gooden's no-hitter and David Cone's perfect game. He was voted onto the NL All-Star team in 2000. As manager of the Yankees, he won the 2009 World Series.

His biggest moment as a player came as he tripled home Paul O'Neill with the deciding run in Game 6 off of Greg Maddox, the final game of the 1996 World Series to give the Yankees their 28th World Championship.

After retiring, he was named manager of the Florida Marlins on October 19, 2005 after spending a season as a New York Yankees coach. He led the team to a 78-84 record in 2006 despite having a lineup consisting largely of castoffs and rookies. However, he was fired after just one season due to ongoing disputes with the team's front office. Girardi was offered the job as manager of the Baltimore Orioles after Sam Perlozzo was fired in 2007, but he turned it down. He was then named manager of the New York Yankees on October 30, 2007, replacing Joe Torre.

Joe found quick success as manager of the Yankees. While they missed the postseason in his first season, 2008, the last one played at old Yankee Stadium, they still finished 16 games above .500. In 2009, they had a dream season, christening their new ballpark, New Yankee Stadium, with a World Series win over the Philadelphia Phillies. They then made the postseason, the next three seasons, although they could proceed no further than the American League Championship Series.

In 2018, he joined the MLB Network as a studio analyst, working on Baseball Tonight telecasts, and in 2020 was named the Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.

(excerpted from SABR, Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)