Former Yankees manager Joe Girardi in 2017 during a game against the Orioles. (Photo Courtesy: Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA (Joe Girardi) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Joe Girardi’s run as New York Yankees manager is over.
The club announced Thursday that Girardi will not return to the team, ending his decade-long run that included a World Series title in 2009. This season the Yankees were just one win away from a World Series appearance, losing in Game 7 to the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.
“I want to thank Joe for his 10 years of hard work and service to this organization,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said to MLB.com. “Everything this organization does is done with careful and thorough consideration, and we’ve decided to pursue alternatives for the managerial position.”
Girardi, 53, helped the Yankees to a 910-710 record over 10 seasons as manager. The team also reached the postseason six times, including three American League East titles in 2009, 2011 and 2012, and three Wild Card berths in 2010, 2015 and 2017.
Girardi thanked the organization for the opportunity to lead the Yankees in a statement released by his agent, Steve Mandell.
“With a heavy heart, I come to you because the Yankees have decided not to bring me back,” Girardi said to MLB.com. “I’d like to thank the Steinbrenner family for believing in me and giving me this wonderful opportunity. I would like to thank Brian Cashman and his staff for hiring me and always trying to improve the team.”
Girardi also thanked the coaches and players for the relationships and memories that were developed during his tenure as manager.
“I would like to thank the players for the relationships that we have fostered over the last 10 years but most important, how hard they played every day,” Girardi said to MLB.com. “… Finally, I’d like to thank the fans for their great support as a player, coach and manager, and the lasting memories of their passion and excitement during the playoff games, especially the final six games, which will remain in my heart forever.”
This isn’t the first time Girardi has been let go. In 2006, he was fired by the Florida Marlins after only one season on the job. But, rather than worry about his next coaching opportunity, Joe trusted God for his future.
“I don’t worry about my next job because I know that God’s in charge,” Girardi said at an Athletes in Action event in 2013. “You know when I thought that I took the job with the Marlins and I was fired, I thought I can’t believe this. We bought a house, we just had another baby in Florida and here I am fired one year. And, I didn’t know God was going to bring me here, but He had a plan.”
After one year away from baseball, Girardi was hired as the manager of the Yankees and in his second year on the job, he led the Yankees to a 103-59 record and a World Series title.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE, FEATURING PATRICK BAILEY
Patrick Bailey is the starting catcher for the San Francisco Giants. He was a first-round selection in the 2020 MLB Draft by the Giants and made his MLB debut with the team in May 2023. Bailey won back-to-back Gold Glove awards in 2024 and 2025, and last year became the first player in MLB history to hit a walk-off inside-the-park home run and a walk-off grand slam in the same season.
Today on the podcast, Matt Forte talks with Patrick Bailey about his faith in Jesus, winning two consecutive Gold Glove awards, and the identity battle he’s faced in keeping baseball in proper perspective.
North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
The results on the court have been up and down for Hubert Davis in his five years as the head coach at North Carolina. What’s remained consistent, however, is his faith in Jesus and willingness to be bold in sharing it.
After serving as an assistant coach for Roy Williams from 2012-2021, Davis was elevated to head coach ahead of the 2021-22 season. From the start, he said he viewed his job as more than just coaching basketball.
“I’ve said this a number of times, that I’ve been put, placed, purposed and planned to be in this position at such a time as this,” Davis said on “The Drive with Will Dalton” ahead of this season. “I’m on assignment. It is missionary work. It’s an act of service … it’s a position of great honor, and I love being in [it].”
That perspective hasn’t changed, even as the results and the sport itself have.
On the court, his team’s next task is a first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday against a No. 11-seeded VCU team that just won the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament. The No. 6-seeded Tar Heels enter the tournament looking to right the ship following a 15-point loss to rival Duke in the regular-season finale and a one-point loss to Clemson in their first game of the ACC Tournament.
After a first-round loss last year, UNC is looking to rekindle some of the magic that led to a run to the 2022 championship game in Davis’ first season at the helm. They’ll have to do so without star forward and projected NBA Draft lottery pick Caleb Wilson, who led the team in scoring (19.8 points per game), rebounds (9.4), steals (1.5) and blocks (1.4) before undergoing season-ending thumb surgery in early March.
UNC missed the NCAA Tournament the year after the runner-up finish, but returned as a No. 1 seed in 2024. That season ended with a Sweet 16 loss, however, to No. 4-seeded Alabama.
The topsy-turvy nature of UNC’s results have coincided with significant changes in the college game, most notably the transfer portal and NIL (name, image and likeness) rules that allow for players to make upwards of six or seven figures in some cases. That has resulted in heavy roster turnover, including losses of key Tar Heels like Caleb Love and Elliott Cadeau.
While some coaches have stepped away amid the changing landscape, Davis has embraced the challenge.
“Obviously there’s differences, but I think it’s been really exciting to maneuver through the differences in college athletics,” Davis told Dalton. “But again, with all the changes, my mission and my assignment haven’t changed at all. It’s to be in these kids’ lives and be able to serve them and give back to them.
“Regardless of how many changes happen, my assignment has stayed the same. I love this assignment. I enjoy it. As I’ve said before, it’s a privilege to be in this position, having a front-row seat to be able to do it on a daily basis.”
That sense of purpose is rooted in Davis’ own story.
Before his coaching career — and even before his 12-year NBA journey — Davis was a player at North Carolina under legendary coach Dean Smith from 1988-1992. It was during that time that his faith in Christ took shape.
In 1990, just before his junior year, Davis attended a service at Chapel Hill Bible Church while searching for answers following the death of his mother two years earlier.
“During that time, I was really struggling,” Davis said on Dalton’s show. “I was going to a number of churches, and the reason being I was looking for answers. I was looking for answers in regards to why my best friend, my mom, passed away two years earlier of cancer. That’s the only reason I was going to church.”
After that church service, a man named Mike Echstenkamper — who was working with Athletes In Action on the UNC campus — approached him.
“He introduced himself and I broke down crying,” Davis told Dalton. “I met him on campus the next day, and that was the day I accepted Christ into my life.
“I was going to church looking for answers, and obviously I never found that answer. But I did find out and was able to see the things that my mom told me — how much Jesus loved me and the plan and purpose that He had for me.”
“When I’m asked a question, the only thing I know how to do is to be myself,” he told Dalton. “My personality is my personality and this is what you get for 55 years. I’m very secure and confident in my own skin and I feel very passionate about the things that I love and care about.”
UNC and VCU tip off at 6:50 p.m. ET Thursday on TNT.
He jogged into second base and immediately burst into celebration — looking to the sky and pointing upward as he began to pray. He had just delivered what may stand as the most significant moment in Venezuela’s sports history.
“What can I say about this? It’s amazing,” he told Fox Sports after the game. “God is good. All the glory is for the Lord Jesus. He was with us the whole time. We have to glorify [Him], put His name in front of everything.”
After Venezuela’s Andrés Machado struck out American Roman Anthony for the final out, Suárez and his teammates poured out of the dugout in celebration. Like several of his teammates, Suárez had a Venezuelan flag ready, grabbing it as he sprinted onto the field before dropping to his knees, again looking to the sky in prayer and praise.
Venezuela played with visible emotion throughout the tournament, with several players saying a championship would mean more than anything else in their careers. It “means everything,” Suárez said after his team’s semifinal win over Italy.
“We’re not just teammates — we’re family,” he said after the championship game. “This team is awesome. We are family here. That’s why we play with passion, with love, because we feel the jersey. We feel our country in front of us.”
This is one of the best post game interviews you’ll ever see from Eugenio Suarez of Venezuela.
Venezuela took a 2-0 lead thanks to a sacrifice fly by Maikel Garcia and a home run by Wilyer Abreu. Meanwhile, starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez and the bullpen held the Team USA offense scoreless until Bryce Harper delivered a game-tying home run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Luis Arraez walked to lead off the top of the ninth, then Javier Sanoja came on as a pinch runner and immediately stole second base on a close play that Team USA manager Mark DeRosa unsuccessfully challenged. Then Suárez delivered.
After struggling for much of the tournament, it was the second straight game that Suárez delivered a key hit for his team. His solo home run helped propel Venezuela to a 4-2 win over Italy in the semifinal.
Venezuela went 3-1 in pool play to advance to the knockout stage, then defeated defending-champion Japan in the quarterfinals. After taking out Italy in the semis, Suárez said the team’s run to the championship was “a dream come true.”
“I never thought in my life that I’d get to represent my country and do it in front of this crowd here in Miami. …I feel so happy for how special God has been to me,” he told MLB Network. “This is beautiful. You have to glorify Jesus’ name and do all my best on the field so (the fans) can feel proud of us.”
Throughout the tournament, Suárez regularly served as the team’s spiritual leader. He would lead the team in prayer in the locker room before games, and following Tuesday’s championship victory, he led his teammates in prayer on the field amid the celebration.
That Suárez came up clutch in the game is no surprise. In Game 5 of the 2025 American League Championship Series, he hit a go-ahead grand slam to give the Seattle Mariners a 3-2 series lead, though they eventually lost in seven games to the Toronto Blue Jays. At the time, he said it was the biggest home run of his career.
“I glorify God because He gives me the power,” Suárez said after that game. “I locked in and just tried to drive one. God is good.”
Now entering his 13th major league season, he is back with the Cincinnati Reds, with whom he’s spent the majority of his career (2015-2021). Last season, as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks (before his July 31 trade to Seattle), he surpassed the 300 career home run mark, making him the 12th active player and third Veneuzuelan-born player to reach the milestone.
He gave a short speech in the clubhouse after reaching the 300 mark and gave glory to God in doing so.
“This game is awesome,” he said. “It’s given me a lot, and I appreciate all of you guys for being part of this. … Thank you very much, and thank you for being part of this day. And this home run was for God.”
“I’ve got to glorify God because He’s the only one,” Suárez told the media after his 300th homer. “Jesus Christ put me in this situation right now, and I feel so good right now. I feel so happy.”
He’s been selected to two All-Star Games (2018, 2025), delivered big playoff moments, and now can add a World Baseball Classic championship to his list of accomplishments. Through it all, serving the Lord remains his primary focus.
“It’s a gift. From that, one treats life like there is more to it than baseball,” Suárez told the Arizona Republic in Spanish last year. “I look for happy moments and think the best about people. It’s the Word of God and I am here to serve God. It’s something that is always with me and I hope it never changes.”
