Hours after New York Yankees Manager Joe Girardi helped lead the Bombers to their elusive 27th World Series championship in team history Wednesday night, he stopped his car to help a female motorist who had crashed her vehicle into a wall on the Cross County Parkway in Eastchester.
“The guy wins the World Series, what does he do? He stops to help,” Westchester County police officer Kathleen Cristiano said of the 2006 National League Manager of the Year. “It was totally surreal.”
According to police reports, Marie Henry, 27, lost control of her SUV and slammed into a guardrail at approximately two in the morning.
Fortunately, Henry suffered only minor cuts in the accident.
“As bad as the car looked, I was really concerned,” said Girardi, 45, who won three championships with the Yankees in the late-1990’s when he played catcher for the team.
Girardi dialed 911 and remained with Henry until emergency workers arrived on the scene.
“The guy wins the World Series and what does he do?” Officer Cristiano asked the Journal News. “He stops to help.”
Girardi, who signed a three-year contract worth $7.5 million to manage the Yankees in October 2007, was highly scrutinized throughout this postseason for many of the pitching decisions he made.
In particular, Girardi was criticized for utilizing a three-man rotation throughout the playoffs.
Ultimately, Girardi’s decisions panned-out and the Yankees were able to become the first team since the 1991 Minnesota Twins to win a title by employing only three starters in October.
“It was the middle of the night; my cell phone battery was dying,” Henry said. “Most people could have just kept driving. But he stopped. He’s got a good heart…I’m a Yankees fan for life.”
Upon being signed in the autumn of 2007, Girardi decided to wear the No. 27 to signify that his lone goal as a skipper was to bring another championship back to the Bronx.
After Girardi and the Yankees captured their record 27th World Series crown, Girardi announced that next year he would don the No. 28 to emphasize his team’s newest goal.
New York is a “what have you done for me lately” type of city.
Currently, Girardi is a beloved Yankees playoff hero.
However, when the Yankees inevitably endure a difficult period next season, he could easily be labeled “Clueless Joe II.”
Life is a day-to-day venture and there is no guarantee what tomorrow will bring.
Nevertheless, today Girardi is a championship-winning manager and he has already made at least one person “a Yankees fan for life.”
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