BALTIMORE -- Joe Girardi declined an offer Thursday to become the new manager of the Baltimore Orioles, saying the timing wasn't right "for the Girardi family."
"Baltimore is a fine organization, a fine team, and I'm flattered that they considered me to possibly be their manager," Girardi said Thursday afternoon on The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio. "But the timing is not right for my family and I. That's basically it."
The Orioles' pursuit of Girardi began quickly after Baltimore fired Sam Perlozzo early Monday after his two-plus seasons as manager, and there were indications over the last 48 hours that Girardi was poised to take the job. He interviewed with the Orioles on Tuesday and was offered the job the same day, ESPN's Peter Gammons reported.
By Wednesday night, the Orioles and Girardi had agreed to work on an agreement, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reported. But by early Thursday, a representative of Girardi phoned the Orioles to say Girardi would not be accepting the club's three-year offer for a little more than $1 million annually, a source told Olney.
Girardi reiterated Thursday that he intends to manage in the majors again.
"I've made my feelings pretty known that I want to manage again," he said. "I absolutely love what I did last year. I think I'll know when [the right opportunity] comes and I'll say, 'This is the right time for the Girardi family.' "
Girardi downplayed speculation that he would be a strong candidate to eventually replace Yankees manager Joe Torre, saying there are plenty of managing jobs that would be considered good jobs if they were to open. Torre is signed through this season.
Girardi was Torre's bench coach in 2005 and played for Torre with the Yankees from 1996 through 1999.
"I don't think there is a perfect scenario, but there's a ton of jobs obviously that at some point in your career a manager would love to have," Girardi said. "I'm extremely excited the Baltimore Orioles called me. It's a great job, too, but not at this time."
Girardi was a first-time manager last season, leading the Florida Marlins to a 78-84 record and keeping his youthful team in contention for a wild-card berth until late September.
The former big league catcher was fired at the end of the season following a rift with owner Jeffrey Loria and then was voted NL Manager of the Year -- the first to win the award with a losing record.
A former coach for Torre, Girardi returned to New York this season as a broadcaster for the club's YES Network.
After firing Perlozzo, the Orioles named bullpen coach Dave Trembley their interim manager and hired Andy MacPhail as chief operating officer of the Orioles. MacPhail has run both the Cubs and the Twins.
MacPhail and Girardi overlapped in Chicago during MacPhail's tenure as Cubs president, which began in 1994 and ended in 2006. Girardi was with the Cubs for two stints totaling six seasons, the last from 2000-02.
Buster Olney is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.