PHILADELPHIA _ The Philadelphia Phillies' decade-long quest to bring back John Middleton's World Series trophy led them Thursday to hire the manager who ripped their title away in 2009.
The Phillies, according to a source, have hired Joe Girardi as their manager. Girardi managed the Yankees for 10 seasons, led them to the playoffs six times and guided the Yankees past the Phillies in the 2009 World Series. The Phillies, for the first time in franchise history, have hired a World Series champion manager.
Girardi also interviewed earlier this month with the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets, teams with which he has history. He played nearly half of his major-league career with the Cubs, and the Mets would have allowed him to return to New York, where he won three world titles with the Yankees as a player before managing them.
But the Cubs opted for former catcher David Ross, and the Mets moved slower than the Phillies, who pegged Girardi as their favorite after his second interview on Monday at Citizens Bank Park. They selected Girardi over finalists Buck Showalter and Dusty Baker as they limited their search to managers with experience and proven track records.
The majority of Girardi's staff is likely already in place as the Phillies retained nine of their coaches after the season, including bench coach Rob Thomson, who was Girardi's bench coach with the Yankees. Girardi will have to hire a hitting coach and pitching coach. For hitting coach, Girardi could be interested in Jim Thome, who worked with him the last two seasons at MLB Network. Thome said last year that he's interested in coaching, but the timing might not be right as his front-office job with the White Sox allows him time to stay home with his family.
Gabe Kapler, whose only coaching experience was a season he spent managing in Class A ball during a sabbatical from his playing career, lasted just two seasons with the Phillies. Middleton, the team's managing partner, pushed to fire Kapler after deciding during the summer that change was needed. Kapler was analytically driven, relying more on numbers in the dugout than feel.
Girardi, too, will rely on analytics. With the Yankees, he kept a binder in the dugout filled with pages of statistical information. The Yankees are one of baseball's most forward-thinking franchises, and Girardi was among the first managers to bring analytics into the dugout. But he is also able to balance that information with the feel he gained during a 15-year playing career.
And that's what attracted the Phillies. Their analytics department is continuing to grow, and the movement continues to spread throughout baseball, especially among franchises who play deep into October. But the Phillies needed to find a balance. They said they have a roster ready to compete, and they needed to find the manager who can keep them playing past September.
