The 2025 New York Yankees season came to an abrupt end last week, leaving many Yankees fans with the same feelings we’ve had for years. It feels like this team has so much more potential—and that something needs to change for them to climb back to the top of the mountain and win their 28th World Series.
Fittingly, the number 28 was worn by the man who joined this week’s South Shore Press podcast—former Yankee great and manager Joe Girardi. Girardi was also the last manager to lead the team to a championship back in 2009, and the drought since then has had many fans longing for the days when Joe was at the helm.
Girardi answered a wide range of questions during the interview, and if one thing is clear, it’s that he remains as sharp as ever and could return to managing in a heartbeat. He acknowledged the Yankees’ strong season and noted how injuries—particularly to Gerrit Cole—could have easily derailed them. Discussing the Toronto series, Girardi said, “I just think for whatever reason, Toronto was a bad matchup for them this year... If this had been a seven-game series, I think the Yankees probably would have fared better.”
Girardi isn’t a man of excuses, but he doesn’t believe that anything short of a title means failure. He praised the great moments throughout the season while also understanding fans’ hunger for more.
That “more” has eluded Yankees fans for too long. No one wants Aaron Judge’s legacy to mirror Don Mattingly’s—greatness without a ring. Whether fans blame players, management, or ownership, everyone has an opinion on what went wrong.
Girardi also addressed the modern game—pitch counts, analytics, and lineup decisions. He stressed that not all pitches are created equal, saying, “Some of the greatest advice I ever got from Don Zimmer was: watch the swings. The swings will tell you when a pitcher’s done.”
On analytics, Girardi noted that they’ve always been part of baseball: “We did it back then too. We just didn’t have as much available as we do today... When I think of analytics, I don’t think about managing a game as much as improving the players.”
Girardi spoke with intelligence and humility—traits rare even among the game’s best. His passion for baseball still shines through.
Listen to the full interview on our website at SouthShorePress.com, on Facebook at TheSouthShorePress, or on X (@SSPNewsroom).