Yanks' Girardi credits Colorado years

Yankees manager says role with Rockies aided career

By Gerry Fraley, Special to the Rocky

Published March 28, 2008 at 7 p.m.
Updated March 28, 2008 at 11:33 p.m.

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Photo by Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press

Yankees manager Joe Girardi, right, and shortstop Derek Jeter share a laugh during batting practice before a spring training game earlier this month in Sarasota, Fla.

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After another consuming spring training day in the crucible that is managing the New York Yankees, Joe Girardi pondered a what-if question.

What if the Rockies had not selected Girardi in the 1992 expansion draft?

"Without Colorado," Girardi said, "I'm probably not sitting here."

Without Colorado's foresight, Girardi would have sunk deeper into the role of backup catcher with the Chicago Cubs.

Without Colorado's opportunity, Girardi would not have made himself into an attractive player during three seasons as the Rockies' starter.

Without Colorado's payroll squeeze, Girardi would not have been traded to the Yankees after the 1995 season.

The deal started a relationship that will enter a new chapter Monday, when Girardi is scheduled to make his regular-season debut as manager in the final Opening Day at Yankee Stadium.

For a moment, Girardi might flash back to the Rockies' first home opener, when a crowd of 80,227 at Mile High Stadium saw him catch Bryn Smith in an 11-4 win against Montreal.

"I've been fortunate everywhere I played," Girardi said. "But Colorado was a special experience."

Catching leaders

In stocking the franchise through the expansion draft, the Rockies had an eye for cerebral catchers with pronounced leadership skills.

The club drafted four catchers. One, Eric Wedge, is established as Cleveland's manager. Another, Jayhawk Owens, is a highly regarded manager in Cincinnati's minor league system. The other, Brad Ausmus, is viewed by major league executives as a manager-in-waiting when he finishes his career with Houston.

Girardi was the club's first selected catcher. The Rockies were relieved when Oakland took catcher Eric Helfand with the 18th overall choice. The Rockies grabbed Girardi with the next pick.

"We knew there were so many positives that Joe could contribute to a first-year club," said Arizona vice president Bob Gebhard, who was the Rockies' first general manager. "He was not only a good defensive catcher. He was smart, a leader, a very respectable young man. He was the right type of guy for us."

That started what Girardi described as an enjoyable three-season run.

The enthusiasm of big crowds at Mile High Stadium and Coors Field invigorated him. Playing for Don Baylor showed Girardi that a manager could command respect without yelling and screaming. Girardi was reunited with coach Don Zimmer, his first major league manager.

At the same time, Girardi grew in stature. His ability to work with and protect a pitching staff, which the Cubs had discounted, caught everyone's attention.

"Joe was the leader," said Yankees bullpen coach Mike Harkey, a Girardi teammate with the Cubs (1990-92) and the Rockies (1994). "He was the most prepared guy I'd ever been around. It wasn't going to work with him. You learned."

The run ended after the 1995 season, when the Rockies sent Girardi to the Yankees for right-hander Mike DeJean and a minor league pitcher. The trade was surprising because Girardi had played such a vital internal role on a club that reached the playoffs as a wild card.

Girardi, who had a prominent role with the Major League Baseball Players Association, had a run-in with Rockies management during the 1994-95 strike regarding its efforts to use minor leaguers in spring training replacement games. Girardi does not believe his stance caused the trade.

"I believe things happen for a reason," Girardi said. "You're always sad when you leave a team, because you've developed relationships with the guys there. But it works out."

Gebhard said payroll concerns influenced the decision. The Rockies had re-signed shortstop Walt Weiss and were pursuing free-agent second baseman Craig Biggio. They could not afford to keep Girardi.

"I did not want to lose Joe, and Don did not want to lose Joe," Gebhard said. "He was vital to our success. But it was a dollars-and-cents decision."

It should be noted the trade, pushed by Zimmer after he had signed with the Yankees, was panned in New York. Fans who liked displaced catcher Mike Stanley booed Girardi at his first offseason appearance.

Ups, downs in Florida

Girardi had mixed fortunes in his first managerial job with Florida in 2006. The Marlins won 76 games despite using 14 pitchers age 24 or younger, and Girardi was named National League Manager of the Year.

He did not return for 2007. A series of clashes wore out the Marlins' patience with the headstrong Girardi, and the club fired him after the season. In addition, several young pitchers came up lame after that season.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman investigated what went wrong in Florida before picking Girardi to replace Joe Torre from a field that included Don Mattingly and Tony Pena. Cashman used the Bill Belichick example. Belichick made mistakes in his first NFL head coaching stop, with Cleveland, but learned and was better prepared when he tried again with New England.

"Joe's a sharp enough individual that he would learn from whatever took place, from his own mistakes and the mistakes in dealing with others, including whatever mistakes were not his," Cashman said. "I look at whatever took place in Florida as a personal growth spurt."

In Florida, Girardi operated without burdensome expectations. With the Yankees, he must win.

A new element enters the situation this season. Owner George Steinbrenner has stepped back from the club's daily operations, ceding authority to his sons. Blustery Hank tried to outdo his father this spring training with numerous inflammatory statements, such as the Yankees have a chance to be the best team in the game for the next decade. Boss Jr. might have forgotten that the Yankees have lost their past four postseason series.

None of this comes as a surprise to Girardi. He seemingly pointed to this day ever since leaving the Marlins and turning down opportunities last year to pursue openings with Baltimore and Kansas City.

"Anything that comes in front of you is part of the job," Girardi said. "You have to be prepared and handle it the best you know how.

"The expectations have always been here. That's one of the things that makes this job so great."

If the Rockies had not wanted to build their first club around a backup catcher with the Cubs, it might have never come to this. Girardi thought about that and grinned.

Three seasons with the Rockies were very, very good to Joe Girardi.

Where are they now?

Joe Girardi will mark Opening Day 2008 from the home dugout at Yankee Stadium. On Opening Day 1993, Girardi started at catcher and hit seventh in the Rockies' inaugural game, a 3-0 loss to the New York Mets on April 5 at Shea Stadium. Mets right-hander Dwight Gooden threw a 101-pitch four-hitter. A look at the current whereabouts of the other Rockies starters on that first Opening Day:

* ANDRES GALARRAGA (1B): Divides time between homes in West Palm Beach, Fla., and Venezuela and frequently plays golf. Has turned down offers from the Mets and Florida to work as a hitting coach but has said he might want to get back into the game soon.

* ERIC YOUNG (2B): Entering his second season as color analyst on ESPN's Baseball Tonight show. His son, Eric Jr., is a second baseman in the Rockies' minor league system.

* FREDDIE BENAVIDES (SS): Starting his 10th year in Cincinnati's player- development system, first as minor league field coordinator. He previously worked as manager and infield instructor.

* CHARLIE HAYES (3B): Owns and operates Big League Baseball Academy in the Houston suburb of Tomball. Young and former major league reliever Mike Jackson are listed as staff instructors along with Hayes.

* JERALD CLARK (LF) : Realtor and real-estate consultant in the San Diego area. Received a bachelor's degree in computer science from National University after his playing career ended.

* ALEX COLE (CF): Living in Oldsmar, Fla., and working for a mortgage broker. In 2004, was released from the federal prison system after serving 14 months on a conviction related to attempted distribution of heroin.

* DANTE BICHETTE (RF): Plays for various senior league teams, including the Jupiter Hammerheads, and coaches sons' teams in Winter Park, Fla. Named one son Bo Joseph Girardi in honor of former Rockies teammate.

* DAVID NIED (P): General manager of Cylinder Heads International, a family business in Grand Prairie, Texas, that rebuilds cylinder heads. Has two sons, both of whom play baseball.

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