Drawn from more than 60 interviews and hours of face time, this authorized biography offers an unprecedented inside-the-dugout look at the manager who guided the New York Yankees to their 27th world championship. Beginning with his childhood in the baseball mecca of Chicago, this book traces Joe Girardi's rise from a catcher at Northwestern University to his time in the minors, his 15 years in the majors, and his successful career as a manager. As much a character portrait of the man as a chronicle of his achievements, this study reveals the amalgam of influences—the relentless work ethic learned from his father combined with the systematic mind of an engineer, the baseball know-how instilled by the likes of Don Zimmer and Joe Torre, and the heart of his tenacious mother—that combined to propel Girardi to his current stature.