Thanks most of all for 1996 because Girardi was the defensive catcher brought in to stabilize the pitching staff. The prior catcher, Mike Stanley, was more bat and a lot less glove. Girardi provided enough offense, including a triple off Greg Maddux in Game 6 of the World Series that knocked in an early run, possible the first. My wife and I had seats about 40 rows up that night, good enough so that I could watch Girardi leg out that triple. He could run pretty well for a catcher.
As a manager, Girardi was fundamentally sound. Totally prepared. But he seemed like a robot in some ways, not an instinctive in-game manager like Billy Martin, Earl Weaver or even the Torre/Zimmer team that ran the Yankees from 1996-2005.
I'm glad Joe is going home to his family before burnout set in. Hope he leaves baseball and finds a job as a college athletic director. Girardi always seemed like a college coach to me.