Long before he played for and worked for Joe Torre, Joe Girardi learned the game right here in Central Illinois.
Playing little league for Dave Rodgers...and leading Dave Lang's Spalding Irish to State.

Before he was local boy done good, he was just local boy. Joe Girardi first put on catcher's gear at East Peoria Little league...
Now, he'll be working in front of the toughest fans and and the toughest media in the world.

"I always say he's in a fish bowl right now, and everybody's looking in, but he'll keep the piranha out at least," said Dave Rodgers, Girardi's little league coach. "They'll be swimming on the outside, because he ignores that. He has a job to do and he's going to do it.
He's very goal–oriented. I'm going to go here and get there and after he finds out who his personnel is going to be, he'll work with every single one of them to make it a better team."

Dave Lang no longer coaches baseball...but he named Girardi a co–captain as a junior...his first position of authority on the diamond.

"He had a whole lot going for him as a player, and you know that as well as anyone," said Lang. " An attitude that would not let things go bad. He took care of business and made sure other people took care of business. He’s the kind of leader you want in a player. He came to the ballpark every day ready to do something…practice hard, do something to get better."

Peoria City councilman Bob Manning was Girardi's teammate on the team that went to state in 1982...

"No one works harder than Joe," Manning said. " He’s certainly a guy that there’s no difference between practice and a game situation. He goes 100% all the time and as a player and a teammate you truly respect that. That’s the type of leadership he showed as a player and the same kind he brings to the managerial ranks."