Joe Girardi is set to return to The Bronx, not as a player or manager but as a broadcaster for the upcoming 2024 season, according to an announcement from the YES Network on Friday afternoon. The former Yankees catcher and manager will join YES as an analyst, although the specific role and coverage plans for Girardi are yet to be revealed.
This marks Girardi’s third stint with the channel, having previously been part of YES Network in 2004 and 2007. Discussing his return to Yankees baseball on “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN New York, Girardi expressed his lack of concern about watching his former team, now managed by Aaron Boone, from the broadcast booth. He noted the considerable changes in the team’s roster since his managerial tenure, emphasizing that only Aaron Judge remains from the players he once managed.
Despite spending four years as a player with the Yankees and achieving a World Series victory as the team’s skipper in 2009, Girardi acknowledged the rapid turnover in team rosters. His managerial career with the Yankees concluded in 2017, and he subsequently took on the managerial role with the Phillies in 2020, leaving midseason in 2022. Girardi later joined the Cubs’ Marquee Network as a color commentator and analyst during the summer of that year, and he will continue working with Marquee in the upcoming season, according to YES Network’s Jack Curry.
Asked about his future managerial aspirations, the 59-year-old expressed a desire to manage again but conveyed contentment with his broadcasting career, stating that he loves the job and feels fortunate to return to what he considers home with the Yankees. Girardi has also served as an analyst on MLB Network and as a color commentator for Fox’s MLB coverage.
