Depending on who is asked, the 2017 New York Yankees season was either a success or a failure. To the optimist, the Yankees exceeded all expectations, taking a young team projected to finish towards the bottom of the division to one game away from the World Series. However, to the pessimist, being eliminated so close to the finish line is a disappointment, especially when the team only had to win only one of two games and lost both.

The mentality that a season is a failure unless it results in a championship remains prevalent amongst the Yankees fanbase, one that is thirsty for glory having gone an intolerable eight years since their last title.

Many players have come and gone since their 2009 World Series victory, yet the man charged with managing the roster’s talent – Joe Girardi – has remained constant through all the highs and lows of the past decade. With 2017 as the final year of Girardi’s managing contract, the Yankees decided to part ways by refusing to offer him a new deal.

Throughout Girardi’s tenure as manager, the Yankees had the best record in baseball, averaging 91 wins per season and reaching the playoffs six times. In 2013 and 2014, he carried teams consisting of broken-down veterans to above -.500 records in spite of negative run differentials. Even when he made mistakes, the players and fans had Girardi’s back, and it was universally agreed that he was amongst the best in the league at doing his job. This season, however, saw a changing in the tide. During the West Coast road trip from hell in June, when the Yankees lost seven games in a row, Girardi was lambasted for giving the ball to the struggling Tyler Clippard, who appeared to give up runs every time he pitched. His bullpen management was under increased scrutiny, and the heat from the fanbase picked up.

Nevertheless, nothing could compare to Game 2 of the ALDS; against the Cleveland Indians, the Yankees blasted AL Cy Young lock Corey Kluber and took a 8–3 lead only to watch it evaporate as Girardi controversially decided not to challenge a hit-by-pitch on Lonnie Chisenhall that, if correctly called, would have been ruled an inning-ending strikeout. Instead, Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam in the next at-bat, and the Yankees ended up losing the game 9–8 to fall one game from elimination. Had the Yankees lost the series, Girardi’s head would have been served on a silver platter. Fans everywhere called for his firing, with Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman even liking an fan’s Instagram comment that called Girardi an “imbecile.” Yet the Bronx Bombers staged a furious comeback to win the series, and his job seemed safe, even as they met their end in Game 7 of the ALCS with their bats dying upon arrival in Houston airspace.

To some, making it to Game 7 of the ALCS in itself is an accomplishment that Girardi should be commended for. The Yankees were slated to undergo a “rebuilding year,” with their fate resting on the shoulders of the “Baby Bombers”, the nickname for the team’s influx of young talent. The expectations were that Gary Sánchez was due to regress after a record-breaking rookie cameo, Aaron Judge would hit for some power and a low average, and Luis Severino would be the team’s fourth starter. Analysts had them missing the playoffs, all picking Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi as the hyped-up rookie. What actually happened is entrenched in baseball history. Judge broke the all-time record for home runs hit by a rookie and is a lock for AL Rookie of the Year, if not AL MVP. Sánchez established himself as the best offensive catcher in the game, and Severino blossomed into the third-best pitcher in the league. They were the catalysts that turned the Yankees’ 22nd-ranked offense in 2016 to second-best in 2017. How could a team fire their manager after he made it so far?

There’s a fair argument that Girardi did not play that large a role in the Yankees’ turnaround. His success relied on the breakout seasons of star players, and statistics show that his managerial decision-making actually inhibited the team from even further accomplishment, underperforming their run differential by nine wins. It’s not hard to perform well when you’re given so much talent to work with, and Girardi was not the one who made his players perform to the highest potential. The Yankees settled for a Wild Card spot, and the games that Girardi’s decision-making lost in the summer was the difference between second place and the division championship. He had his bright spots, such as brilliantly calling upon a bullpen game after Luis Severino faltered in the Wild Card round, but the goodwill he earned from that game was lost after the Cleveland debacle and Houston series.

At the end of the day, the Yankees’ decision to let go of Girardi ultimately rests with general manager Brian Cashman’s vision for the future. Early indications are that he recommended for Girardi to leave, and would like to see the new manager dictate his own coaching staff as well. Primed to be a World Series contender for the next few years, the Yankees want the manager position to be stable during this time period.

Knowing that Cashman backed the decision instills more faith that the organization knows what they are doing; he has perfectly orchestrated this rebuild that allowed the team to gain all their young talent, with his most prized possessions still waiting in the minors. Girardi was known for sticking to the book, making decisions according to his “binder” and uttering the memetic phrase “it’s not what you want” after losses. To Cashman, he did not “engage, communicate and connect well with the team. In an age with greater front office presence, the Yankees are in search of a more analytical mind, one who will work well with the young talent that is expected to comprise much of the future roster. Girardi accomplished a lot in his time in the Bronx, and fans have every right to be upset with the decision, but learning more about the situation makes his dismissal easier to understand.