| Eddie Yost | |
|---|---|
 Yost, circa 1959 | |
| Third baseman | |
| Born:(1926-10-13)October 13, 1926 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | |
| Died: October 16, 2012(2012-10-16) (aged 86) Weston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 16, 1944, for the Washington Senators | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 28, 1962, for the Los Angeles Angels | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .254 |
| Home runs | 139 |
| Runs batted in | 683 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Edward Frederick Joseph Yost (October 13, 1926 – October 16, 2012)[1] was an American professionalbaseball player andcoach.[2] He played most of hisMajor League Baseball career as athird baseman for theWashington Senators, then played two seasons each with theDetroit Tigers and theLos Angeles Angels before retiring in 1962.[2]
The 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), 170 lb (77 kg) Yost batted and threw right-handed.[2] He was nicknamed "The Walking Man" for the numerousbases on balls he drew, and continues to rank 11th all-time among major leaguers in that category, ahead of the likes ofPete Rose,Willie Mays,Stan Musial, andHank Aaron.[3][4] Yost was considered one of the bestleadoff hitters and defensive third basemen of his era.[5][6][7][8]
Yost was born inBrooklyn,New York, where he played baseball and basketball atNew York University (NYU) before signing with the Washington Senators as an amateurfree agent in 1944.[2] He made his Major League debut with the Senators at the age of 17 on August 16, 1944, having never played in theminor leagues.[2][9] Yost spent the 1945 season in theUnited States Navy before returning to the Senators in 1946.[10]
In 1950, Yost posted career highs with a .295batting average and a .440 on-base percentage.[2] In 1951, he led the American League with 36 doubles and produced a career-high 65runs batted in.[2] He earned a place as a reserve player for the American League team in the1952 All-Star Game.[11] Between August 30, 1949, and May 11, 1955, Yost played in 829 consecutive games for the Senators, the ninth-longestconsecutive game streak in major league history.[12] Yost'shome run totals were limited by Washington's cavernousGriffith Stadium.[13] Between 1944 and1953, he hit only three home runs athome while hitting 52 home runs on theroad.[14][15]
On December 6, 1958, after 14 seasons with the Senators, Yost was traded to the Detroit Tigers, allowing the Senators to make room for young prospectHarmon Killebrew.[8][16][17] Playing inhitter-friendlyTiger Stadium in 1959, his home run production climbed to a career-high of 21 and, he led the American League with 115runs scored, 135base on balls and a .435on-base percentage.[18] In 1960, he again led the league in base on balls and on-base percentage.[19] Yost spent two seasons with the Tigers before being selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 1961 American League expansion draft.[17]
Yost was the first Angels player to appear in a major league game,leading off in the team's first game, played atBaltimore on April 11, 1961.[20] In his last plate appearance as a major league player, he received a base on balls.[8]
In an 18-year career, Yost played in 2,109games, accumulating 1,863hits in 7,346at bats for a .254 career batting average along with 139 home runs, 683 runs batted in and anon-base percentage of .394.[2] He ended his career with a .957fielding percentage.[2] Yost led theAmerican League in bases on balls on six occasions and logged 1,614 over his 18-year career, ranking him 11th on the all-time walks list.[21] In 1956, he had a .412 on-base percentage while posting a .231 batting average, the lowest batting average with a .400 on-base percentage in major league history.[22] Yost hit 28 home runs to lead off a game, a record which stood untilBobby Bonds broke it in the 1970s.[8]
Yost led American League third basemen eight times inputouts, seven times indouble plays, three times inassists and twice in fielding percentage.[8] He set American League career records with 2,356 putouts, 3,659 assists, and 6,285total chances.[8] His 2,356 putouts ranks him third all-time among third basemen behindBrooks Robinson andJimmy Collins.[23] In 1960, he surpassedPie Traynor's major league record for most games played as a third baseman with 1,865 games.[24] Yost was the first third baseman in history to appear in more than 2,000 games.[8] Baseball historianBill James ranked Yost 24th all-time among third baseman in hisHistorical Baseball Abstract.[14]
Yost attendedNew York University during the off-season, from which he earned aMaster's degree in physical education in 1953.[13][14][24]
Yost followed his long playing career with a 23-season career as acoach. After a brief stint as a playing coach with the1962 Angels, Yost returned to Washington in1963 as the third-base coach of the secondSenators franchise, under his old teammate, managerMickey Vernon.[6] After Washington began the season by losing 26 of its first 40 games, Vernon was replaced byGil Hodges. Yost served asinterim manager during the brief transition, losing his only game as manager, 9–3 to theChicago White Sox, on May 22, 1963.[25][26][27] Yost then continued on Hodges' Washington staff through1967.[6]
When Hodges became manager of theNew York Mets in1968, he took Yost with him;Shea Stadium, the Mets' home field, was located only eight miles (13 km) from Yost's off-season home inSouth Ozone Park, Queens.[8][6] Yost was the Mets' third-base coach from 1968 to1976, and was a member of both the1969 "Miracle Mets"World Series champion and the1973 Mets, who won theNational Leaguepennant but fell in that season'sFall Classic in seven games.
In1977, he continued his coaching career with theBoston Red Sox, coaching at third base for eight more seasons, through1984, under skippersDon Zimmer andRalph Houk. By his retirement at the close of the 1984 campaign, Yost had spent 40 years in uniform in professionalbaseball, all of them at the major-league level.
While playing for theDetroit Tigers, Yost married Patricia Healy, who worked for their front office inpublic relations.[28] They had two daughters, Felita Yost Carr and Alexis; a son, Mike; and two grandsons, Edward and Joseph. Patricia died on January 6, 2007.[29]
Yost's daughter Felita competed inice dancing during the1997 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.[30][31] Following her active career in ice skating, she is now a coach offigure skating.[32][33]
Eddie's son, Michael is current Boston College indoor pole vault record holder.[34]
His grandson Edward played varsity baseball atHuntington Beach High School inCalifornia and is a lefthandpitcher.[35] Edward was a member of the 2015 HBHS varsity baseball team which won theCalifornia Interscholastic Federation – Southern Section Division 1 Championship on June 6, 2015.[36] Edward Yost is currently playing forPepperdine University as part of thePepperdine Waves baseball team.[37]
Yost and his family had moved toBoston's western suburbs during his tenure with the Red Sox and he lived there in retirement. He died ofcardiovascular disease inWeston, Massachusetts, on October 16, 2012, aged 86.[38]
| Managing/coaching | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Washington Senatorsthird-base coach 1963–1967 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York Metsthird-base coach 1968–1976 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Boston Red Soxthird-base coach 1977–1984 | Succeeded by |