Many people know Joe Girardi as an All-Star Major League catcher, or a former MLB Manager of the year, but Girardi also fancies himself as bit of a pool shark… and on Monday, the Yankees skipper called off a team meeting and organized an impromptu field trip in order to share his “other” favorite past time with his team.

Girardi loaded up the Yankees and hauled them over to a local pool hall for a pool tournament in an effort to “build relationships”, and have a little fun as well, I’m sure. “I’ve never been on a team that’s done something like this before, but I often wondered why,” Girardi told MLB.com. “There’s a lot of other sports that do these types of things. We can get away from the park and enjoy each other off the field and get to know each other.”

As the “tournament” progressed, it was Mariano Rivera who came out on top, winning twice – once with Phil Coke, and again with Andy Pettitte. In the final game of the second tournament, he and Pettitte knocked off Nick Swisher and Hideki Matsui to clinch the eight ball recreational tournament.

New York Yankees fans surely hope that Girardi’s team building strategies will get them back on track this year and into the playoffs. Time will tell.

Tags: New York Yankees

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