New York Yankees manager takes notes from Nick Saban’s process
By Nick Cole
Published:
New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi is a four-time World Series champion.
And even he’s intrigued by Alabama coach Nick Saban’s winning ways.
Girardi recently appeared on the “30 with Murti” podcast for New York-based WFAN, and the topic of Alabama football and Nick Saban came up.
AL.com’s Mark Inabinett transcribed some of the Yankees manager’s thoughts:
“Nick Saban always talks about the process. He doesn’t talk about the results. It’s the process — winning every play and being better than the guy across from you every play. Baseball, in a sense, is a lot like that. If you’re a pitcher, you have to win each play, and a play as a pitcher is an at-bat. Vice versa if you’re the hitter.”
Girardi went on to say that he and his son have been down to Tuscaloosa to see the Crimson Tide in action, and consistently comes away impressed with Saban’s model for excellence.
“I love to watch how he goes about his business, his passion for the sport. I’ve been to a couple of games down there; I took my son to see them play LSU. The amount of work he puts in in one day is incredible. He has to deal with recruits and not only the game plan, but the shows he has to do. I was just watching how his time schedule was so organized and how he went about his business.”
It is not exactly the first time that high-profile coaches from different sports have mingled, but it is rare to see the manager of the most storied baseball franchise talk about learning from a college football coach.
As the Yankees begin their 2016 regular season against the Houston Astros on Tuesday, keep in mind that some of the team building strategies implemented by the Bronx Bombers may have originated from the desk of Nick Saban.
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
