Eddie Yost 1926-2012

[Frayed Knot]

A long career as a player was followed by one coaching where he, of course, was prowling the 3rd base side for the 1969 NYM
Dubbed 'The Walking Man' for leading the league in walks six different times and finishing his career with a BA/OBA gap of 140 points - about double the usual norm.
He played for Washington, Detroit, and the LA Angels from 1944 thru 1962


Did you know that:
- he was born in Brooklyn?
- attended HS in Queens?
- went to NYU?

Still the best fielding 3rd base coach I've ever seen. Eddie could pick 'em bare-handed better than some infielders with gloves.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

He attended my high school, John Adams in Ozone Park. One of the very few notable alumni, along with Jimmy Breslin and Jack Lord.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I did know about him and NYU, but I've long since forgotten that. NYU doesn't have that many athletes among its alumni (compared to other schools, at least) and when I was there his name was the one that was recognizable to me.

[Frayed Knot]

Apparently he got a Masters in Phys Ed there. It came during his playing career not before seeing as how he went straight into the major leagues at age 17 and then into the service and then back to the majors where he was basically a full-timer by age 20.


Had a better than I realized career -- check out those OBAs! -- especially considering how much old Griffiths Park in Washington cut down on HRs. I read earlier what his H/R splits were for HRs during those years and it was ridiculously lopsided.

[G-Fafif]

R.I.P. definitive third base coach.

Have to confess I was surprised when he emerged for the 40th anniversary introductions in 2009. Didn't realize the man was still, shall we say, walking.

[Theoldmole]

Jack Lord notable?

RIP Eddie.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

Book 'em, Mole.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Eddie Yost, the Washington Senators� �Walking Man� of the 1950s, dies at 86 By Matt Schudel, Wednesday, October 17, 8:40 PM Eddie Yost, the Washington Senators� third baseman of the 1950s whose extraordinary ability to coax walks made him a pest to opposing pitchers and an anomaly in baseball history, died Oct. 16 at an assisted-living facility in Weston, Mass. He was 86. His daughter Felita Yost Carr confirmed his death but could not cite a specific cause, other than a �bad heart.� Mr. Yost, who first joined the Senators as a 17-year-old in 1944, became one of the most popular players on a team with a hopeless record of futility. During his 12 seasons as the starting third baseman from 1947 through 1958, the team had a winning record only one time. But, along with hitters Mickey Vernon and Roy Sievers, Mr. Yost was a rare bright spot for the Nats, as the team was often called. Although Mr. Yost compiled a mediocre lifetime batting average of only .254, his uncanny batting eye enabled him to draw walks almost at will, earning him the nickname �The Walking Man.� One opposing manager fined his pitchers $25 for each walk given up to Mr. Yost but had to stop the practice when his pitching staff ended up hundreds of dollars in debt. �He reached the point where the umpires said if he didn�t swing at a pitch, they wouldn�t call it a strike,� said Phil Wood, a longtime Washington broadcaster and baseball historian. Mr. Yost led the American League in walks six times and had eight seasons with more than 100 walks. By contrast, no member of the 2012 Washington Nationals had more than 67 walks. His ability to draw walks and score runs � and to avoid swinging at bad pitches � was not always appreciated in his time. When Mr. Yost retired in 1961, his 1,614 walks ranked fourth in baseball history, after Hall of Fame sluggers Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Mel Ott. Mr. Yost is now 11th on the all-time list. After Mr. Yost�s only All-Star season in 1952, Senators owner Clark Griffith said, �I wouldn�t swap him for Mickey Mantle straight up, and to prove it, I�m paying him almost twice as much as the Yankees are paying Mantle.� Washington�s cavernous Griffith Stadium, with its 400-foot left-field foul line, greatly reduced the power numbers of the right-handed-hitting Mr. Yost. Through the 1953 season, he had hit 55 home runs � 52 of them on the road. His 28 home runs while leading off games were a major league record until broken by Bobby Bonds in the 1970s and later by Rickey Henderson. Edward Frederick Yost was born Oct. 13, 1926, in Brooklyn and played baseball and basketball at New York University before signing with the Nats in 1944. After two years in the Navy, he returned to the Nats in 1946 and never played in the minor leagues. In the offseason, he attended NYU and received a master�s degree in physical education in 1953. In Washington, Mr. Yost was the team�s iron man, playing in 829 consecutive games from 1949 to 1955, the most since Lou Gehrig�s then-record 2,130-game streak ended in 1939. After the 1958 season, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers, then in 1961 joined the new Los Angeles Angels, becoming the first player to bat for the expansion team. Mr. Yost succeeded Bob Feller as the American League�s player representative in the 1950s, testified before Congress on baseball�s antitrust exemption, and helped increase the minimum salary and pensions for players. He later was the third-base coach for the Senators, New York Mets � including the World Series-winning �Miracle Mets� of 1969 � and Boston Red Sox. In retirement in Wellesley Hills, Mass., he enjoyed repairing clocks and carousel horses. His wife of 45 years, Patricia Healy Yost, died in 2007. Survivors include three children, Felita Yost Carr of Hollis, N.H., Michael Yost of Huntington Beach, Calif., and Alexis Yost of Wellesley, Mass.; a sister; and two grandsons. Mr. Yost�s career on-base percentage of .394 ranks higher than many players with gaudier batting averages, including Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Honus Wagner and Pete Rose. His remarkable knack for drawing walks was a mystery that opposing pitchers never solved. �Those pitchers aren�t walking me because they feel friendly toward me,� Mr. Yost told The Washington Post in 1953. �The opposite is more true. They�re careful not to lay them up there for me. They pitch to me like I�m a .400 hitter.�

[Frayed Knot]

When I first heard of coach and later Milwaukee/now Kansas City manager [u:13e4ntz7]Ned[/u:13e4ntz7] Yost I was sure that the name similarity and one generation age difference (28 yrs) was too much of a coincidence for them NOT to be related and almost certainly father/son. But as time went on and nothing was ever mentioned (particularly from Gary or Howie) it became apparent that there was no connection.

But get this, their full names are:
Edward Frederick 'Eddie' Yost
[u:13e4ntz7]Edgar[/u:13e4ntz7] Frederick 'Ned' Yost
... again, a heckuva coincidence.

But then Ned turns out to be Edgar Frederick Yost [u:13e4ntz7]III[/u:13e4ntz7], a name he passed on to his son 'Ned' IV who played briefly in the minors and now is a coach in the Milwaukee system again implying no relation as to be Jr/II or 'The Third'/III generally involves having the exact name as your father or relative, not merely a similar one.

And then the obits mention none either so I guess that issue is pretty settled.

[Guest metrotheme]

I want to say that Yost was at NYU the same time as Ralph Branca.

His daughter helped to set me up with an interview with him in May and she said it was probably going to be the last interview he did. He was great. I'm still working on transcribing it, but we spent a lot of time talking about John Adams and growing up in Queens.

He was really disappointed about how at the time, the city was going to close down John Adams (which it has since rescinded) and change the name of the school.

[Frayed Knot]

metrotheme wrote: His daughter helped to set me up with an interview with him in May and ... we spent a lot of time talking about John Adams.

I didn't realize he was that old.

[MFS62]

I not only remember him as a coach for the Mets but I remember him playing for the Senators.
I had a Rawlings PM-5 (or was it a PM-20?) Eddie Yost model glove.
RIP, Eddie.

OE, it was a George Kell model glove.
But I still remember watching Eddie playing.

Later

[Guest Swan Swan H]

Frayed Knot wrote: metrotheme wrote: His daughter helped to set me up with an interview with him in May and ... we spent a lot of time talking about John Adams. I didn't realize he was that old.

Oh, but he was. I'm sure he told metrotheme about getting together with John Quincy Adams for rousing games of jackstraws and huzzlecap.

[Frayed Knot]

Active (or pseudo-active) players who have higher career OBAs than Yost's .3940:
Miguel Cabrera - .3947
Bobby Abreu - .3958
Nick Johnson - .3989
Chipper Jones - .4011
Jim Thome - .4019
Jason Giambi - .4034
Joe Mauer - .4050
Lance Berkman - .4086
Albert Pujols - .4141
Joey Votto - .4155
Todd Helton - .4189

[Frayed Knot]

Probably not for the first time but:

NY Times, Sat Now 3, 16-Across: 'Baseball's Eddie nicknamed "The Walking Man"

[MFS62]

Its easier than spelling the answer to "ex-Governer Arnold, who played The Running Man".

Later