Is Passion And Success One And The Same Thing? The Story of Joseph Elliott

Passion as they say is like a driving force because it pushes one to bring out the best in oneself. One man who's passionate about the things he does is Joseph Girardi, a former American professional baseball catcher during his playing days who later became a manager and a coach and also a sports analyst with 3 Gold medals from World Series Championship and a one time National League manager of the year. He is so passionate about the game of baseball that he did well even under unfavorable working condition. So sit tight and get to know more of Joe Girardi.

Biography:

Joseph Elliott Girardi who is of Italian descent was born on the 14th day of October, 1964 in Peoria Illinois, USA. He was born into the family of Henry Girardi (father) and Angela Girardi (mother). He's the fourth child of his parents. He attended Neil Armstrong grade school which is located in east of Peoria. Later on he went to academy of our lady/spadding institute where his love for sports particularly baseball was ignited. He played as a catcher for the school baseball team. After high school, he attended the northwestern university in Illinois. There, he played for the University’s baseball team also as a catcher. He graduated with a degree in industrial Engineering, thereby making him a smart sportsman. He was the president of his fraternity in his college days.

Because of his love for the game of baseball, he didn't pursue his career as an engineer instead, he allowed the passion for the game to drive him into becoming a professional baseball player. He started as a player in the minor league playing for Chicago cubs, before he moved on to the major league where he made his debut in 1989. From then on till now his career has been much of a huge success. He has racked up amazing statistic in the course of his career as a baseball player with a batting average of .267 per game and 36 home run. Other clubs he played for beside Chicago cubs were Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees and St. Louis cardinal.

In 2003, he retired from baseball, ending his stint in the game at St. Louis cardinals. After that he went on to become a commentator for a sports news network. He did well in his job as a commentator and it earned him good reviews. He was later given a bigger offer in the broadcasting business but he declined the offer due to his desire to venture into coaching job. Luckily, he got the job of a bench coach with the Florida marlins. However, he didn't last long as a bench coach before he took the managerial position. As a manager, he was so disciplined that he never allowed any form of misconduct from his players. He established sound policies for his players to follow. He never permitted any form of mistreatment from anyone. This became evident in his argument with Florida marlins owner, Jeffrey Loria over an unfair treatment of an official. As a result of the incident that ensued between him and Loria, he was fired from his job.

His stint with the Florida marlins won him the National League manager of the year award and sporting news manager of the year award. He went back to broadcasting job in 2007. Subsequently after that, he signed a 3 year contract to become the manager of New York Yankees. Unfortunately, his first season with the Yankees was not a success as they were eliminated in the post season contention. In his second season his team came much improved than the previous season. They won the World Series title that season making it his first World Series title as a manager. His stint as a manager for the Yankees was a huge success for his career as he spent nine seasons with the Yankees. However, in 2017 his contract ended and he was replaced by Aaron Boone.

Wife, family, & children:

Kimberly Innocenzi is the wife of Joe Girardi. She is a devout Christian and a true believer of the Christian faith. The two met each other at northwestern university where Kimberly was doing her masters on education. They started bonding just after Kim lost her earrings of which Joe helped look for and from then on, their relationship blossomed. They dated throughout their stay in the University and later got married after graduation. Together they have 3 children_ Serena(daughter), Dante (son) and Lena (last child). Kim's strong belief in Christianity began at an early stage in her life. As a little girl she belonged to Good news club, a child evangelism fellowship ministry. There, she dedicated her time to knowing Jesus. She spends a great deal of time reading the Bible and sharing the Gospel with friends and acquaintances. According to Joe, Kim introduce him to Jesus and ever since then he has remained a devoted Christian. It is no wonder that their marriage is 2 decades old and there's no room for any form of separation.

Son & daughter:

Considering Joe's huge success in the game of baseball, it will not be much of a surprise if one of his children follow in his footsteps. His son, Dante has decided to follow in his father's footsteps. He plays as a batsman for Calvary Christian high school while on the other hand his eldest daughter, Serena is making out a career in the movie industry. Her first role as an actress was in the film animation, “Henry and me”.

Physical fitness tends to make us look younger than our age and it is evident in Joe's physique with many years in the game except for his graying hair. He is well shaped, standing just 5ft 11" tall, he weigh 91kg with a broad shoulder, a narrow hip and a flat hardened stomach. He has a thickly forearm muscles which he developed as a child while helping his father in bricklaying.