Ned Yost – Royals Hall of Famer

Asked to reflect on his team just moments after they won the 2015 World Series, Ned Yost said, “It's just a team that never quits, never panics. They just find a way.” The same can be said of Ned Yost and entire tenure as Royals manager – the longest in franchise history – that now includes his election as the 27^th member of the Royals Hall of Fame.

Ned Yost’s love for baseball was never in doubt, but his growth and path in the game was very much doubted by some. Reminiscing about the start of his baseball career with MLB.com in 2014, Yost said, "I went a whole year in high school (Dublin, Calif.), without getting a hit, 0-for-36 my sophomore year. I didn't get a hit all year. The next year, I hit like .420 and the year after that, .350 or something like that and was all-conference. I didn't play varsity until I was a senior in high school." And what made the difference? It turns out it was a summer job. "I went to work for Kentucky Fried Chicken. I was a pot scrubber. I'd sit there and scrub pots all summer long and my arms got strong. And I came back and had a cannon for an arm. I never hit a home run until I was in college."

In fact, Ned Yost’s baseball career was often more of a slow burn fueled by his own belief in himself and later the teams he led – a belief not always shared by others. For instance, that first home run was hit while playing for Chabot Junior College (Hayward, Calif.) the only school that offered Yost a chance to play collegiate baseball. Yost was good enough to catch the eye of professional scouts. He was selected in the second round of the now defunct January MLB Draft in 1974 by the Montreal Expos but didn’t sign. After one year at Chabot, Yost’s name was called again in the first round of the 1974 June Secondary Draft by the New York Mets. You would think his coach would be impressed, but he wasn’t at all. After signing with the Mets, Yost remembered his Chabot coach had a pointed message for him saying, “‘Hey, look, for the next week, just make sure you take care of yourself. Make sure you eat right. Just take care of yourself for the next week. Because that’s how long you’re going to last, son. You’re going to be back on the first bus. You think you’re a professional player? You ain’t going to make it. Good luck. See you later.” And so began the professional baseball career of Ned Yost that would cover the next 46 years of his life.

Yost made his major league debut as a player with the Brewers on April 12, 1980, at Country Stadium in Milwaukee against the Red Sox. He was a late inning replacement for catcher Buck Martinez, who was a member of the inaugural 1969 Kansas City Royals. It was the start of a six-year big league playing career that saw Yost spend four seasons in Milwaukee, one with the Texas Rangers, then a final brief stay with the 1985 Montreal Expos. He played two more seasons in the Atlanta Braves organization, and it was there that his coaching career began. He was named manager of Atlanta’s Single-A affiliate Sumter (South Carolina) Braves of the South Atlantic League in 1988. When Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, then serving as the Braves big league bullpen coach, was named manager of their Triple-A club in 1991 it opened a spot on Atlanta’s major league staff. To fill that position the Braves elevated Yost back to the big leagues. There he remained through the 2002 season. During those 12 seasons the Braves made the playoffs 11 times, winning five National League Pennants and the 1995 World Series. It was there Yost says he learned what it would take to be a successful major league manager should the opportunity ever come studying at the feet of one of the best in Hall of Famer Bobby Cox.

The opportunity emerged following the 2002 season when the Milwaukee Brewers named him their manager. Yost’s big-league story had come full circle. The Brewers had not had a winning season since 1992. Under Yost, Milwaukee showed steady improvement. The 2005 Brewers finished 81-81. The 2007 Brewers posted a winning campaign at 84-79. Then the 2008 Brewers where in contention for a wild card spot in when Yost was fired with 12 games remaining in the season. Those 2008 Brewers did make the playoffs, but Yost was no longer in the dugout. The return to Milwaukee was not the perfect end to Ned Yost’s career it seemed it might be, but it wasn’t the final chapter either.

Yost retreated to his Georgia farm in 2009, but his baseball story wasn’t finished. A new chapter started when he was hired in 2010 as a special assistant by then Royals General Manager Dayton Moore. In that role, Yost was able to watch many of the Royals prospects – he liked what he saw. With the Royals struggling out of the gate at 12-23, Moore turned to Yost on May 13, 2010, and named him the 16^th full-time manager in franchise history. Not long after some of the prospects Yost had watched started to arrive in Kansas City. Again, the progress was a steady if slow burn. The 2011 Royals won four more games than 2010. The 2012 Royals won one more game than 2011. Then that slow burn became a fire. The 2013 Royals finished 86-76 delivering Kansas City’s first winning season since 2003. All setting the stage for two of the greatest seasons in Royals history full of moments that electrified a city and fanbase.

The 2014 Royals went 89-73 and earned a wild card spot ending a 29-year postseason drought in Kansas City. And more than that, Ned Yost and his Royals made it count with a thrilling win in the Wild Card game at Kauffman Stadium starting a magical run of eight consecutive wins on their way to capturing the 2014 American League Pennant. No team in major league history had ever started a postseason with such a streak – and no manager had ever won his first eight postseason games. The next year they took it even further capturing a division title with a league leading 95-67 mark and later a second consecutive American League Pennant. Then after coming some close the year before, the 2015 Royals captured Kansas City’s second World Series Championship.

Ned Yost led the Royals for ten seasons and is the franchise’s all-time leader in managerial wins (746 wins). He also led the Royals to a 22-9 postseason record for a .710 winning percentage, which set an all-time MLB mark for managers with at least 20 career postseason games. The Royals and Ned Yost made history together and he will now take his rightful place in the Royals Hall of Fame.