Owner Hal Steinbrenner revealed the decision to end Girardi's tenure after a decade had long been discussed before the move was announced Oct. 26, five days after the season-ending loss to Houston in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series.
"I'm sure there would have been more pressure," Steinbrenner said Wednesday. "It maybe would have been a more difficult decision to make, but I still believe I would have made it because I felt that's what's best for the organization going forward."
Speaking after he arrived for a major league owners' meeting, Steinbrenner said he had spoken regularly with general manager Brian Cashman about the manager's job throughout Girardi's four-year contract.