Joe Girardi‘s tenth season as manager of the Yankees turned out to be his final season as manager of the Yankees. And, weirdly enough, he was dismissed after the club exceeded all expectations and made it to within one game of the World Series. Just consider the preseason projections real quick:
- Baseball Prospectus: 81-81
- Actual Finish: 91-71 (also second best run differential in baseball)
And yet, after the season Hal Steinbrenner admitted the Yankees would have changed managers even if they’d won the World Series.