Front Office Directory
Joe Garagiola Jr. - Senior Director, Special Projects
Joe Garagiola Jr. is in his third season as Senior Director, Special Projects and fifth since returning to the organization in December 2018 as Special Advisor to the President & CEO. In his current role, he oversees various special projects within the organization. This is his second stint with the D-backs. He was previously Sr. Vice President & General Manager of the franchise from its inception through the 2005 season, helping guide the team to division titles in 1999, 2001 and ¡®02 as well as the first major championship for a sports franchise in the state of Arizona.
Garagiola rejoined the organization following 13 seasons at Major League Baseball, where he originally served as Sr. Vice President of Baseball Operations and later as Sr. Vice President of Standards and On-Field Operations. In those capacities, he was involved in a variety of matters including on-field discipline, uniforms, ground rules and official scoring appeals.
Garagiola¡¯s work on a variety of civic panels served as a driving force in bringing baseball to the Valley, as he was the chairman of the Phoenix Metropolitan Sports Foundation and the Arizona Baseball Commission, the group best known for completing the task of convincing existing Major League clubs that Phoenix and the region were ready to possess their own club. He served as Vice Chairman of the Governor¡¯s Cactus League Task Force and was a member of the Mayor¡¯s Professional Baseball Committee as well as chairman of the Maricopa County Sports Authority.
Each year since 2010, the D-backs have presented the Joe Garagiola Jr. Award to the individual in Player Development who exemplifies the qualities of strong character, dedication to the organization and commitment to excellence in instruction.
Upon graduation from law school, Garagiola joined the New York Yankees as Assistant to the President and In-House Counsel. Following his stint with the Yankees, where he collected his first World Series ring, he started his own law firm and was the editor and publisher of the Sports Law Reporter, the first publication devoted exclusively to sports and the law. Garagiola currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law in the Selig Sports Law and Business Program at ASU.
Garagiola received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and law degree from Georgetown Law. He moved to the Valley in 1982, practicing with the firm of Gallagher and Kennedy, concentrating on sports law. He was a partner at G&K and was an integral part of the team that handled the franchise application process as well as the negotiations with Maricopa County involving Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field).
His father, Joe Garagiola Sr., was a household name in Major League Baseball and the world of entertainment, first as a player followed by an extensive television career that included 15 years as part of the D-backs¡¯ broadcasts. The broadcast wing of the press box at Chase Field was renamed in Joe Sr.¡¯s honor in 2009 in recognition for his countless achievements and enduring influence on baseball, broadcasting, and community service.
Joe Jr. and his wife, Noel, reside in Scottsdale and have four children, Meredith, Valerie, Natalie and Chris, who is in his second season as part of the Diamondbacks radio broadcast team.