Joe Girardi Named IEMS Distinguished Alumnus

February 6, 2007

Joe Girardi, a Northwestern University alumnus and former catcher for the Chicago Cubs, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Northwestern’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences on February 20.

Girardi graduated from the University in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. While at Northwestern Girardi played baseball and was a three-time Academic All-American and two-time All-Big 10 selection at catcher. He made his Major League Baseball debut in 1989 and played for 15 seasons as a catcher with the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees. Girardi was a member of three World Series Championship squads in New York and, while playing for the Cubs, was named to the 2000 All-Star team. He retired as a catcher in 2004.

In 2006, Girardi was manager of the Florida Marlins and received the National League Manager of the Year Award. He now works as a broadcaster for the YES Network.