Phillies manager Joe Girardi wins 1,000th career game
By Matt Rappa
Phillies manager Joe Girardi achieved an impressive milestone in the team’s 3-2 win against the Nationals
The Philadelphia Phillies’ first win this season — scoring three runs or less across 23 tries — was not the only eye-catching statistic in their 3-2 win against the Washington Nationals Wednesday evening at Nationals Park.
Thanks to newly acquired right-handed reliever Brandon Workman closing the door and recording his second save as a Phillie, Joe Girardi secured his 1,000th career victory as manager.
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After the game, Phillies players gave Girardi a bottle of champagne and Bryce Harper made a clubhouse speech. Girardi said he has a lot of great mentors along the way, and added that the players’ gesture “brought a tear” to his eye because he feels like he has “really been blessed.”
Girardi is now the fourth Phils manager to earn his 1,000th win while managing the team. Also, he is the 16th-fastest skipper in Major League Baseball history to reach the milestone — and the fastest since Davey Johnson in 1999.
Congratulations on the milestone, Joe! pic.twitter.com/xqCMVlzQ8D
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 27, 2020
The 55-year-old is in his 12th season as a manager, following a 15-year Major League Baseball playing career as a catcher. Girardi won 78 games with the Florida Marlins in 2006, followed by a 910-win, 10-year stint as manager of the New York Yankees — that included a 2009 World Series win opposite the Phillies and their all-time winningest manager Charlie Manuel (780 wins).
Fittingly, Girardi and Manuel are now tied on the all-time MLB managerial wins list.
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Girardi, now with 12 victories to his credit in red pinstripes, has a ways to go to even come close to Manuel. His all-time managerial record is 1,000-808.
“The one thing I realized managing for a while, It’s never easy. It never goes according to plan,” Girardi said after Wednesday’s game. Workman securing the 3-2 victory proved just that. But, one of the newest Phillies relievers got the job done, securing the series win against the reigning World Series champion Nationals.