Joe Girardi Says He Was 'Surprised' by Yankees Exit, Thought He'd Return to Team

Former New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Tuesday that he was surprised by his departure from the organization following their loss to the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.

In an interview with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (h/t Bryan Mcwilliam of The Score), Girardi shared his thoughts on the exit: "I was surprised. With the year that we had and the progress the team had made, I thought I would be back. Obviously, there is a ton of talent there, a ton of great young talent. I was excited about that. I thought I'd be back."

The Yankees announced last week that Girardi would not return as manager in 2018, opting instead to allow his contract to expire.

According to ESPN.com's Andrew Marchand, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said in a statement that the organization would "pursue alternatives for the managerial position."

Girardi suggested he had no inkling that his time with the Yanks was coming to an end prior to the team's decision to move on: "I think this organization has always been about winning. They exhaust everything they can to win. I thought it was business as usual. We talked about teams we needed to look at in advance-scouting meetings [for the playoffs], talked about rosters. The communication was great."

Few expected the Yankees to make the playoffs in 2017, but they knocked off the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS and fell one win short of the World Series after losing to the Astros in seven games in the ALCS.

Under Girardi's tutelage this season, young players such as Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Luis Severino established themselves as some of the fastest-rising stars in the game.

In 10 seasons as New York's manager, Girardi went 910-710 with six playoff appearances and one World Series win. The Yanks' record during his tenure was the best of any team in Major League Baseball.