Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports that the Philadelphia Phillies have hired Joe Girardi their new manager. They are expected to formally announce his hiring later today. Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia has a full breakdown of the hiring here.
Girardi, of course, managed the New York Yankees for ten years, winning a World Series title in his second season at the helm. Prior to that he managed the Florida Marlins for a single season. His combined record 988-794 with six postseason appearances and that 2009 championship.
The Phillies were certainly looking for a different sort of manager than the recently-terminated Gabe Kapler. Whereas Kapler was a first-time big league skipper, Girardi is seasoned. Whereas Kapler often made curious if not downright bad tactical decisions, Girardi was known for being an excellent manager of his bullpen. Girardi’s lone fault -- and it wasn’t really talked about until the end of his tenure with the Yankees -- was his seeming unwillingness to give young players the space to develop, but the Phillies are a win-now club whose most important players, at the moment anyway, are veterans.
Which is to say that it seems like a pretty good fit.
