Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, grew up in a small town, with a population of 23,402. East Peoria was dominated by the sites, noise and smell of the manufacturing giant Caterpillar Inc. and it’s everyday production of earth moving equipment. Big Yellow employed over twenty thousand, any given day at the East Peoria facility.
Tragedy struck Joe at the age of 13, his mother a child psychologist, diagnosed with cancer and given 3 to 6 months to live. This became Joe’s biggest motivation to become a baseball player. The future Yankees manager and player excelled in sports, including football, basketball, and baseball.