What is Joe Girardi's Net Worth and Salary?
Joe Girardi is a former American professional baseball player who has a net worth of $15 million. Born in 1964 in Peoria, Illinois, Joe Girardi played college baseball close to home in the Chicago suburbs for the Northwestern University Wildcats. He made his Major League Baseball debut on April 4, 1989 as a member of the Chicago Cubs. Girardi played with the Cubs until 1992 before joining the Colorado Rockies from 1993 until 1995, the New York Yankees from 1996 until 1999, the Cubs a second time from 2000 until 2002, and the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003. Girardi earned MLB All-Star honors once during the 2000 season with the Cubs. He is a three-time World Series championship winner as a player, winning in 1996 with the Yankees, 1998 with the Yankees, and 1999 with the Yankees. Girardi, a right-handed catcher, finished his playing career with a .267 batting average to go along with 36 home runs and 422 runs batted in. After his playing career, Girardi managed the Florida Marlins, Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies, and served as a sports commentator on a few different television networks.
Early Life and Education
Joe Girardi was born on October 14, 1964 in Peoria, Illinois as the fourth son and fifth child overall of Angela and Jerry. His siblings are John, George, Gerald, and Maria. As a teenager, he attended the Spalding Institute, a Catholic high school. Girardi went on to attend Northwestern University in Evanston, where he played baseball for the Wildcats. He graduated in 1986 with a BS in industrial engineering; he also earned the Big Ten Medal of Honor in recognition of his joint athletic and academic prowess.
Minor League Career
In the 1986 MLB draft, Girardi was chosen in the fifth round by the Chicago Cubs. He played four seasons in the team's minor league system, mainly with the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League. Girardi also played one season outside of the US for the Águilas del Zulia of the Venezuelan Winter League.
Chicago Cubs, 1989-1992
Girardi made his MLB debut for the Cubs in April of 1989. In his rookie year, he posted a .248 batting average with one home run and 14 RBIs across 59 games. Girardi played 133 games in his second season, batting .270 with one home run and 38 RBIs. In the 1991 season, he only played 21 games, batting .191 with six RBIs. Girardi's final season with the Cubs in 1992 saw him batting .270 with one home run and 12 RBIs across 91 games.
Colorado Rockies
Left unprotected in the 1992 MLB expansion draft, Girardi was chosen by the Colorado Rockies. He had a solid first season with the team in 1993, batting .290 with three homers and 31 RBIs over 86 games. The following season, Girardi batted .276 with four homers and 34 RBIs across 93 games. He had his final season with the Rockies in 1995, when he batted .262 with career highs of eight home runs and 55 RBIs over 125 games.
New York Yankees
Following the 1995 season, Girardi was acquired by the New York Yankees. During his first season with the team, he caught Dwight Gooden's no-hitter. The Yankees went on to reach the World Series, where Girardi's RBI triple against Greg Maddux in Game 6 helped the team win the title over the Atlanta Braves. Girardi and the Yankees claimed another World Series title in 1998 by sweeping the San Diego Padres. The next season, they swept the Braves to win a second-consecutive World Series. Girardi had another career highlight in 1999 when he caught David Cone's perfect game.
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Chicago Cubs
Girardi returned to his first MLB team, the Cubs, in 2000. That season, across 106 games, he recorded a .278 batting average with six home runs and 40 RBIs. In 2001, Girardi batted .253 with three home runs and 25 RBIs over 78 games. Ending his career with the Cubs in 2002, Girardi batted .226 with one home run and 26 RBIs over 90 season games.
St. Louis Cardinals
In late 2002, Girardi signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. He appeared in only 16 games in the subsequent 2003 season, batting .130 with one RBI in 23 at-bats. Girardi retired from playing in 2004.
Sports Broadcasting and Coaching
Following his retirement from playing, Girardi became a sports commentator for the YES Network, on which he hosted the youth-focused program "Kids on Deck." He went on to accept an offer to become the Yankees' bench coach. Girardi continued broadcasting, providing commentary for three of the games of the 2006 World Series on Fox. He then returned to the YES Network, where he co-hosted the show "Behind the Plate" with John Flaherty. Later, in 2018, Girardi became an analyst for the MLB Network.
Team Management
In 2006, Girardi replaced Jack McKeon as the manager of the Florida Marlins. He had a shaky season with the team, and was nearly fired in August after getting into a verbal altercation with Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria during a game. Girardi ultimately was fired, in October. Despite that, he earned the National League Manager of the Year Award. Girardi went on to manage his former team the Yankees from 2008 to 2017. Although the team performed poorly in his first year as manager, it improved greatly in 2009 and won the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2011, Girardi oversaw the Yankees' AL East title win. His final season as manager of the Yankees saw the team making it to the ALCS, but losing to the Houston Astros.
Two years after leaving the Yankees, Girardi became the manager of the Phillies. Under his management from 2020 to 2022, the team recorded some of the worst stats in its history, including the most blown saves by any MLB team ever. After the Phillies started out the 2022 season with a 22-29 record, Girardi was fired. The team went on to win 14 of its next 16 games en route to winning the National League pennant.
Personal Life
With his wife Kim Innocenzi, Girardi has three children. The couple lives in Purchase, New York.
