How Joe Girardi really feels about his Yankees dismissal

Even though Joe Girardi’s Yankees contract was technically set to expire at season’s end, his dismissal came as a surprise to many, none more so than Girardi, himself.

Nine times out of ten, when a manager gets fired, there is very little said from the dismissed party. But when you’ve been the skipper of the Yankees for the past 10 years, and you lead a team in the midst of a rebuild within one game of the World Series, feelings are bound to bubble to the surface.

In his first in-depth interview since being let go by the Yanks, Girardi spoke to The Athletic about a variety of topics, including the “disappointment” he felt after general manager Brian Cashman swiftly and abruptly informed him that his services were no longer needed in the Bronx.

“I think there’s always hurt. Whenever you feel someone doesn’t want you, there’s going to be hurt.“With the year that we had and the progress the team had made, I thought I would be back.“For me, there was disappointment because I kind of wanted to finish what we had started this year. And I was looking forward to the growth of the organization, the young players, the more young players with the veterans we had.”

Throughout much of the interview, Girardi, a man who won 200 more games than he lost during his tenure as manager of the Yankees, was his usual straight to the point-self. Especially when asked a series of ‘IF’ questions by Ken Rosenthal, which included:

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• IF his commitment to the organization had changed after 10 years?
• IF he was worn down?
• IF he had trouble connecting to younger players?
• IF he sensed relationships with his players had deteriorated?
• IF it was difficult to serve as a buffer between the front office and the players?
• IF teams depend too much on analytics?
• IF his relationship with Cashman had changed throughout the years?

Each and every response Girardi gave began with some form of the word ‘NO.’ However, the one answer he gave a resounding ‘YES’ to — was if he would have returned for his 11th season, were he asked to do so.

“Absolutely.“I was very excited about 2018.“I think sometimes people perceived that I didn’t want to come back, and that’s not the case.”

Girardi, who said his dream job would be to positively affect the future of baseball through a position like commissioner (but in no way is he angling for it), hopes to manage again one day soon — though, his return to the spotlight may begin with a trip back to TV as an analyst.

Regardless of where we see Joe next, his time with the Yankees won’t soon be forgotten.

Next: Raul Ibanez, next manager of the Yankees?

Not only for his role in winning a World Series title in 2009, six playoff appearances or getting the next crop of potentially great Yankees’ teams off on the right foot — but because he did it how he saw fit.