Former Major League Baseball catcher and manager Joe Girardi stood in front of TV cameras, photographers and a packed crowd sporting Yankees shirts, Cubs hats and Cardinals jackets, to receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the McCormick School of Engineering on Tuesday.

“What I’m most proud of today is that I could bring some southern Florida weather up here,” Girardi joked.

Girardi, McCormick ‘86, spoke for 45 minutes in Tech M345 about how his experiences as an engineering student helped his baseball career.

“In school I learned how to be a problem solver, and in baseball that’s all you do,” Girardi said.

Girardi credited his studies at NU for teaching how to deal with pressure situations, and giving him discipline and focus. As a catcher, he would pore over numbers for hours at a time, deciphering the most effective ways to get hitters out, he said.

“When I played for Northwestern, I remember my coach walking up to me on the field and saying, ‘I’m tired of seeing that scoreboard call you an Academic All-American; just try and get these hitters out if you’re so smart,’” Girardi said. “And that stuck with me.”

A graduate from the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, Girardi established permanent bonds in his off-the-field endeavors during his four years with the Northwestern baseball team.

“When my mother passed away in 1984, it was my teammates that were for me,” Girardi said. “When I had to leave Chicago to join the Yankees, it was my college coach who was the first to call me. And after what I went through in Florida, 17 players and my coach surprised me with a reunion. I really miss the people.”

Five local TV stations covered Girardi’s talk, and about 70 other people filled the classroom. Professor Ajit C. Tamhane introduced his former pupil to the crowd, and quipped how the skills Girardi learned in school helped him as a player and manager.

“I guess that’s where he used management science,” Tamhane said, referencing Girardi’s tenure as manager of the Florida Marlins during the 2006 season.

Girardi began his professional career in 1989 with the Chicago Cubs, where he played catcher for three years. From there he moved to the Colorado Rockies and then on to the New York Yankees—and from 1995 to 2000 he became a Yankee legend, earning three World Series rings and catching a perfect game.

After his time with the Yankees, Girardi went back to the Cubs, where he played for two seasons and earned an All-Star Game appearance, before joining the rival St. Louis Cardinals.

Girardi stressed the importance of taking advantage of all the opportunities NU offers, and encouraged students to get involved.

“In all my time in professional baseball—with the Cubs, Rockies, Yankees, and Cardinals—and in all my successes, I never had more fun than I did here,” Girardi said.

Listen to audio of Girardi’s speech here.