Joe Girardi did not sound bitter. Not even close.

On Monday night, he was at his home in South Florida, as the youngest of his three children, Lena, 11, fished out back. “She thinks the fish feed more at night,” Girardi said. “I’m not really sure about that. But I’m going to find out.”

Girardi’s free time increased last Thursday when the New York Yankees announced he would not return for an 11th season as manager. But Girardi, rather than brood over his fate, continues to revel in the sport, watching the World Series with avid interest.

“You’re seeing great plays, huge hits, emotion in the game,” Girardi said. “The one thing about the playoffs, and as I watch this World Series, is that it brings the little kids out again. The jumping up and down, the hugging, the running out of the dugout . . . if you showed that much emotion during a 162-game schedule, you’d be physically dead by the end of it. But I just think it has been very interesting, how both managers have handled their clubs. You’re sitting on the edge of your chair every inning wondering what’s going to happen next.”

What happened with the Yankees and Girardi is still not entirely clear. Girardi, speaking to The Athletic in his first interview since his departure, made it clear that he wanted to continue managing the club, and left no doubt that he wants to manage again, though he would consider returning to television or joining the commissioner’s office in the interim.

Girardi, 53, averaged 91 wins in his 10 seasons with the Yankees, reaching the playoffs six times, winning the World Series in 2009. We began our conversation talking about the Yankees’ decision to part with him after he led a club with modest expectations to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

How surprised were you when general manager Brian Cashman told you the Yankees were not bringing you back?

Girardi: I was surprised. With the year that we had and the progress the team had made, I thought I would be back. Obviously, there is a ton of talent there, a ton of great young talent. I was excited about that. I thought I’d be back.

What was that conversation like?

Girardi: It was fairly quick. Brian told me as an organization they had decided to go in a different direction. We talked for a few minutes and we talked later on for a little bit longer. For me, there was disappointment because I kind of wanted to finish what we had started this year. And I was looking forward to the growth of the organization, the young players, the more young players with the veterans we had.

I was very excited about 2018. But in a lot of respects, I’m really thankful. I was there for 10 years. How many managers, head coaches in the NFL, NBA, NHL, college football coaches, college basketball coaches, get to spend 10 years in one place? It was where my kids (Serena, 18; Dante, 15; and Lena, 11) grew up in a lot of ways. I feel really fortunate I was there for 10 years. I’m thankful to Hal (Steinbrenner) and his family and Cash for sticking with me for 10 years.

What were your emotions like when you received the news? Were you hurt? What did you feel?

Girardi: Disappointment. I think there’s always hurt. Whenever you feel someone doesn’t want you, there’s going to be hurt. But I understood. I understand that this has happened to managers who have achieved a lot more than I have.

The guy that I went after (Joe Torre), he had been asked to move on in a couple of different places, and he’s a Hall of Fame manager. Tony La Russa didn’t manage in one place. Bobby Cox didn’t manage in one place. Jim Leyland didn’t manage in one place, and I think Jim Leyland is a Hall of Famer as well. Again, I felt like I was really fortunate. But I don’t think anyone can ever predict exactly when something is going to happen.

Did you sense in the final weeks or months that the Yankees’ commitment to you might be wavering, that something was going on?

Girardi: No. I think this organization has always been about winning. They exhaust everything they can to win. I thought it was business as usual. We talked about teams we needed to look at in advance-scouting meetings (for the playoffs), talked about rosters. The communication was great.

Did you speak with (owner) Hal Steinbrenner?

Girardi: I did. I thanked him. I thanked his family for giving me a wonderful opportunity, not just for me, but my family, being a part of this (Yankees) family. He told me I would always be a part of this family. Obviously, we would talk later on if I ever wanted to do something for the organization. I thought that was really nice for him to say that. They want me to still be part of the family.

I have other interests in life. I do want to manage again. Time will tell exactly what I do.

What was your own family’s reaction?

Girardi: I think they were extremely disappointed. They were hurt to a certain extent. They knew that I was disappointed, but it had been a big part of their lives for 10 years, too.

I think about my oldest (Serena). She came to New York when she was 8. Dante was 5. And Lena was just 1 year old. It’s really all that they’ve known for the last 10 years.

You told me last spring that your family liked that you were Yankees manager, that Dante would rather you have the job than attend his high school games. But what were your feelings? How difficult was it for you to be away as often as a manager is?

Girardi: It’s somewhat difficult but I have a great wife (of 27 years) in Kim who really keeps it together and makes it work. We are together a ton. During the playoffs, she flew all over the place. She homeschooled them basically for the last three weeks. We made it work because we wanted to be together. She’s always done that. And the interesting thing that is always said is, ‘Our home is where we’re at.’ It’s not a physical place where a structure is built. It’s where we are as a family. And she always kept us really close and together.

Q: You were in the job 10 years. That’s a long time for a Yankees manager. Were you worn down at the end?

Girardi: No. Not at all. I talked about it in my statement. Seeing Yankee Stadium those last six games in the playoffs is a lasting memory I’ll always have. You can never get enough of that. It was a special environment. I’m sure they feel that in Houston right now. I’m sure they feel that in L.A. I’m sure they felt it in every playoff city. It was a great feeling.

Sometimes by the end of the season because of travel, you physically get a little beat up. Mentally, I’m not worn down. Mentally, I’m ready to go. I always laugh. You come home, you kind of decompress for about a week or two and then you’re ready to go back to work. It’s actually too long of an offseason. I always say if I was commissioner for a day, I would have a three month season, a month off, a three month season, a month off and another three month season and a month off. That’s the way I would do it. After a month, I’m ready to go back to work.

So, if the Yankees had asked you back, would you have returned?

Girardi: Absolutely.

I think sometimes when people would ask, ‘What are you going to do? Do you want to come back?’ and I would say, ‘It’s a family decision, I will talk to my wife and kids,’ sometimes maybe that was received like I didn’t want to come back. But I think in fairness to my family, I always felt if they weren’t all-in, it would make my job a lot more difficult and I wouldn’t be able to give everything I could to the organization. That’s why I always asked them. I asked after the first three years I did it, the next three years I did and after these four. They were all-in. But I think sometimes people perceived that I didn’t want to come back, and that’s not the case.

I never thought it was fair to influence my family’s decision, or for them to worry about, ‘I’m going to disappoint my husband,’ or, ‘I’m going to disappoint dad.’ I didn’t ever want to put that pressure on them. I had to get their blessing first, which I did before I went back. Because of the demands on my wife and my kids’ time.

Q: Two jobs were still open after the Yankees made their decision — Philadelphia and Washington. Did you pursue either of them?

Girardi: The one thing that I don’t do to protect all parties involved is never talk about if I have a discussion with another club or not, in fairness to them, in fairness to me. That’s a policy I’ve always had, and I will continue to do that.

At one point during the postseason, you mentioned to reporters that there were some dream jobs that you might never get to do. I imagine you don’t want to list them, but what appeals to you? What kinds of things would excite you?

Girardi: If I could run baseball, that would excite me. I know I’ll never be the commissioner of baseball, and I’m not vying to be the commissioner of baseball. But I think I would love that. To see the inner workings, to be able to make changes where you feel it’s beneficial to the game, I think that would be a great job.

What about going to work for MLB? I know you have opinions on how to fix the game.

Girardi: That’s obviously something I would consider. I truly love this game – the strategy of the game, the relationships in the game, the passion I have for getting the most out of people. I want everyone who has an opportunity to be able to experience what I’ve experienced in this game, all the good things that have happened to me because of this game. I just want to make sure when a 2-year-old, a 4-year-old, an 18-year-old (becomes a fan) that it’s still a great game.

How strong is your desire to get back into television?

Girardi: I’m definitely interested in that. I’ve always said that’s a wonderful job. You get to do what you love to do. You get to talk about the game. And you don’t really take the scores home with you. You don’t have to think about, ‘If I would have done this, if I would have done that. Who’s going to be my DH tomorrow? Who’s going to pitch the seventh, eighth and ninth?’ All I have to worry about is calling what I see. That really brings a lot of pleasure to me.

What did you consider your greatest strengths as Yankees manager?

Girardi: I always hate talking about what I think my greatest strengths are. I like to let other people talk about that. People ask me about my legacy. I don’t ever worry about that. I worry about my legacy with my family. The most important thing for a manager is to try to get the most out of his players every day, help them understand the importance of every game.

I look at the standings so many times. You think, ‘Well, if I just would have won those two games … .’ Sometimes, that’s hard for people to understand in the midst of the dog days of July and August, if we would have won that game in May . . . I don’t think you can ever lose sight of that in our game. You look at what home-field advantage has meant to teams in the playoffs. How important it was to us. How important it has been for everybody. To me, that’s the message. Every game is important. I don’t like to lose. I am a guy who is extremely focused. I am intense. I know the importance of every game, the importance of every game for the organization and the fans. You see that on a daily basis when you work in a place like New York.

Greatest weaknesses as a manager?

Girardi: I don’t know. I think that’s for other people to talk about as well. Some people might say I’m not fuzzy and warm all the time. I do like to have fun. I have relationships with all my players. It might not come out when I’m talking to the media. But I spend time with my players, do all of those things.

I know that I was never a hitting expert. I have the numbers to prove that. I don’t think I was a pitching expert because I never pitched. I would choose to rely on my coaches heavily, talk about situations and go from there.

Mark Teixeira was quoted by the New York Post as saying that everyone loves and respects you, thinks you are a good manager, a good man. But he also said, “We all know why Joe Girardi is not coming back. We all know it’s because of the communication and the intensity was a little bit too much . . . The communication and the highs and lows of the season weren’t Joe’s best assets and he will probably tell you that. He manages every game like it’s Game 7.” What is your response to that?

Girardi: Well, I think you’re always going to have some players who maybe your personality mixes better with than others, who you might be closer with than others. But I’m not going to apologize for my personality. The one thing Joe Torre always told me was to be myself. Before I took this job, I called Joe Torre and said, ‘Joe, I would like your blessing. And I would like any advice.’ And he said, ‘Be yourself.’

That’s who I’ve always been. I’ve always been a guy who is extremely focused, a guy who is very intense, a guy who hates to lose in anything that I do. I’m very competitive. I have kids who can attest to that, a wife who can attest to that. Which I think is pretty funny — we get into these heated card games at home. But that’s who I am. I think that is part of what has made me successful in life — my desire to get the most out of myself and everyone around me.

On the positive side, Mariano Rivera expressed surprise that you were let go, while Gary Sanchez and Clint Frazier thanked you on Twitter. How comforting was that support?

Girardi: It’s always comforting to hear good news. I don’t care who you are. I kind of came up with Mo in New York. He had some time in ‘95. Then he burst on the scene in ‘96, and that’s when I was traded there. I had a chance to catch, coach and manage the greatest reliever of all-time. People always ask, ‘Who was the easiest guy to catch?’ I said, ‘Mo!’ He never threw a ball in the dirt. He never missed a spot by more than an inch or two.

It’s nice to hear those things. I do try to make a difference in people’s lives besides on the baseball field. I always felt it was important that people know that I love them more as people in the future of their lives than I do as players. You’re going to be a person, a husband, and a father a lot longer than you’re ever going to be a player.

Did you hear from any players?

Girardi: I did. I’ve heard from a ton. I’ve heard from ex-players. I’ve heard from fans, fans who were close to the dugout, so many different people. When you go through something like this, you really find out a lot about people who maybe you’ve influenced, maybe you had no idea about. You find out about people who love you, care for you and respect you and are there for you. Sometimes, as people, maybe we don’t appreciate that enough. You go through a situation like this, that’s when you really find out. Maybe you should pay closer attention to those little details.

I heard even some celebrities reached out to you.

Girardi: It’s people I’ve had relationships with. Obviously, I’ve always had a very close relationship with Billy Crystal. He has always texted me back and forth on a number of things, sent me videos of himself, tells me that he’s ready to go. There have been other celebrities who have reached out, other coaches, managers. A ton of managers reached out to me, and I’m very thankful for that. Obviously, they’ve been through this before. They understand. In a sense, we’re kind of like a community in and of ourselves because we go through the same things.

As the years passed, did it become more difficult for you to connect with players?

Girardi: No, I don’t think so. You have to remember, I have teenagers at home. I understand a lot of the stuff they do. I don’t necessarily do it with them. I don’t tweet. I’m not on Facebook. I don’t Snapchat. But I know that’s a huge part of their lives. And I try to keep in constant communication with them through texting and calling.

I know that music is big and loud music is big and that the music they listen to today has changed compared to the music I listened to. I’ve always loved loud music in a clubhouse. I think music brings life. That’s a really good thing. We had guys who carried their own little speakers around and turned them up in the rooms where they were. I used to just kind of laugh and giggle at it.

I still feel like I’m a young man. I do CrossFit like young people do. I do crazy things like young people do. I love to snow ski. No, I don’t think that it has become more difficult (to connect).

Did you sense that some of your relationships with players had deteriorated?

Girardi: No, I didn’t. If that’s the case, I’m kind of surprised. I think sometimes relationships with players can be misconstrued if they’re unhappy with their playing time. A manager has a lot of tough decisions to make. He has to make decisions based on what’s best for the team, what he feels is best for the team. As an organization, as a coaching staff, you discuss things. Some guys may not get as much playing time as they want. That always hurts me, too. I wish that everyone could play every day and every pitcher could do exactly what they wanted. But it’s not the nature of the game.

As a player, I had disappointment in the game. I was fortunate enough to play almost 15 years, but it wasn’t all rosy. I lost my jobs to players who were better than I was. In 1996, I looked at Jim Leyritz and I said, ‘Jim, this doesn’t bode well for one of us. This Jorge Posada kid, he’s faster, he’s stronger, he’s got a better arm, he’s got more power and he’s a switch-hitter. It’s not going to be good for one of us.’ But I had to move on. I understood that.

I understand players get upset at times with the manager. I’ve actually talked to them about it in team meetings: ‘There are going to be things that I do that you’re not necessarily going to like. I’m just doing them because I think it’s what’s best for the team.’”

The Yankees averaged 91 wins in your 10 seasons. I would imagine you feel that says something quite positive about your relationships with players.

Girardi: You can look at that a couple of different ways. Yeah, we were talented clubs. I was the beneficiary of that. Brian Cashman put together a lot of good clubs. And Hal allowed Brian to go out and get players. Before that, it was George. But I also think there were some years where maybe people thought we won more than I should have.

I don’t really take it like, ‘I did a good job.’ I think my job is to win every game. That’s my job as the manager. Put players and people in position to win every game. And I’m heartbroken every year we don’t win the World Series. It’s hard for me a lot of times to watch games on TV when the playoffs go on. Again, I feel my job is to win every day. That’s what they’re paying me to do.

Ninety-one wins a year, that’s great. But I’m disappointed we only won one World Series. Six different years we were in the playoffs, and I am proud of that. But again, I went to the Miami Marlins (in 2006) and they asked me what my goal was that year. We had (all those) rookies. And I said, ‘To win the World Series.’ And I was disappointed when we didn’t.

How difficult was it for you to serve as a buffer between the front office and the players, considering the Yankees’ strong emphasis on analytics in recent years?

Girardi: I don’t think it was difficult. I strongly believe in analytics. My favorite class in school was math. And my favorite math class was calculus. You can’t always take the derivative in baseball and get the answer. But I think it’s extremely important. I used it a lot in managing. I had discussions with our analytical people about how they came up with things, how do we continue to improve this and continue to grow as an organization.

I love analytics. If you remember, they used to call me, ‘Joe Binder,’ or, ‘Binder Joe,’ I don’t know what it was. But that’s my personality. You use as much information as you can, but you also have to watch what you see, too. Sometimes, there can be a difference between the analytics and what you see. And that’s because there could be something going on in a guy’s life. He could be nicked up. There are a lot of different reasons why maybe a guy is not up to his numbers over a certain period of time. And I think you have to make adjustments.

I think I’m highly analytical. I actually really like it.

Do teams today depend too much on analytics?

Girardi: I don’t think you can ever have too much analytics. I think you have to decipher what is good that day and what adjustments you make because of maybe a pitcher on the mound or the way your defense is set up that day. I think you always have to be adjusting. I believe numbers tell a story. But numbers tell the exact story every day. They tell the story every time. Sometimes, you have to make adjustments.

How would you describe your relationship with Brian Cashman?

Girardi: I think it was good. We had 10 really good years together. This is the man who believed in me and picked me over maybe some other peoples’ choices and took a chance on me after I only had managed one year. I think our relationship was good. Like any relationship over 10 years, you’re going to have some disagreements. But as Cash would say, I think they’re healthy. I think they lead to some discussions. But I think we were on the same page most of the time. He allowed me to do my job. And I was thankful for the job he did in always trying to improve our club.

Did the relationship change in recent years?

Girardi: I don’t necessarily think so. I think that maybe sometimes you take things for granted because you know someone so well and he knows you so well. But no, I don’t necessarily think so.

How often did the front office question in-game strategy? Lineups? The way you handled players?

Girardi: I don’t really know because it doesn’t ever come back to me. Every once in a while, they would ask me why I made a move. I was always OK with that. I think as a manager, you’re making moves over a quick period of time and you’re taking the information you have at that time and making the best decisions you can.

Is it always going to work? No. But on the other side, you don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t make the decision, if you left the guy in. You don’t really know. Sometimes people say, ‘He definitely should have brought this guy in.’ But maybe he should have left the other guy in. I don’t ever really take that too personally. Decisions we make are analytically-based, what-we-see based, player-based, coaches talking about certain situations. They’re not just fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants decisions. We have an understanding of our players.

You didn’t show your emotions often. But many fans responded positively when you showed your human side, particularly after you acknowledged your mistake on your failure to call for a replay review in the Division Series. Do you think it might have helped you with your players and the public to wear your heart on your sleeve a little more?

Girardi: Maybe, but that’s not who I am. I think my players probably saw me emotional more than the outside world did. And that’s the way I was raised. That’s the way my mother and father raised me. And I’m proud of the way my mother and father raised me. I’ve often said, ‘If I’m half the parent that my parents were, then my kids are getting a good dad.’

They were tough. My father was tough. I’ve told the story about what he went through when he was fixing the bathtub. He broke his thumb and was bleeding all over — and he finished the job. My mother was diagnosed with cancer and given three months to live. She lived six years. I saw that toughness in them and not always a lot of emotion. But when they were emotional, it was really impactful.

I think a lot of times my focus on trying to win the next game, trying to do everything I can to put players in the best situations and help the club win games, maybe keeps me from getting emotional. I’m on to the next task.

One of the requirements of a manager’s job is meeting with the media twice a day, and the Yankees media contingent is one of the largest in the sport, if not the largest. At times, people would say you looked uncomfortable in your news conferences. How difficult was that aspect of the job for you?

Girardi: It was easy. You understand the media has a job to do. I respect that. You understand it’s very competitive. That’s one of the reasons I don’t do off-the-record. From a New York standpoint, I never gave one writer a story before the other, because I know how competitive their job is. I didn’t think that was fair. I was comfortable doing the media.

My feeling when it comes to media is that they have a story to tell and they want as much information they can get. Sometimes, I don’t want to give all that information out because I’m worried about protecting one of my players or protecting some of the strategy that goes into the game that night. Again, I feel as the manager of the club, your job is to put the players in the best position to win every game you can. It maybe came off that I was uninterested, or that I was tight-lipped or whatever. But I felt that was my job. I didn’t lie to the media. I didn’t always tell them everything I knew. But that was from a strategic standpoint.

How much do you look forward to not answering questions, to simply relaxing?

Girardi: I always look forward to the winter with my family. It’s a situation where we sit down and have dinner every here night. I do a lot of the cooking. My wife does all of the cleaning. It works out really, really well.

I saw my daughter play two basketball games this weekend. I will throw BP to my son tomorrow again. I got to see my daughter home from college, made food for her. I fished with my youngest daughter. She did hook me. Lena got my finger.

I always look forward to the offseason. It’s special moments that we have and a chance that I really get to be a part of their lives. They spend eight months trying to be a part of my life. I get a chance for four months to really be a part of their lives. It might be a little bit longer this year, but that’s OK, too. My kids are very athletic. I get to spend more time with my wife, which is always nice, and my dogs, who love having me around. And I get to watch my kids at their events and see them grow up.

What are you proudest of?

Girardi: That’s a great question. I never really thought about it. When I think about things I worry the most about, it’s giving back to my family and others. That’s what I worry the most about in life. Because I really think that’s what we’re called to do on this earth. Yes, we have a job. But I think we’re called to give back and help others out. That’s probably what I’m most proud of.

How do you want people to remember you as Yankees manager?

Girardi: A guy that tried to win every game he could for the organization and loved every minute of it.

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(Top photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)