Eddie Yost
From BR Bullpen
Edward Frederick Joseph Yost (The Walking Man)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.
- School New York University
- Debut August 16, 1944
- Final Game July 28, 1962
- Born October 13, 1926 in Brooklyn, NY USA
[edit] Biographical Information
A much underrated ballplayer throughout his career who drew 100 or more walks in a season eight times, Eddie Yost has the most bases on balls of any eligible player not in the Hall of Fame. Although his career batting average was only .254, his uncanny ability to draw walks coined his nickname - enabling "The Walking Man" to have a lifetime on-base average of .394, comparable to Hall of Famers Rod Carew (.393) and Tony Gwynn (.388).
Yost broke into the majors at age 17.
After his playing career ended, Yost spent many seasons as a big league coach with the Los Angeles Angels, Washington Senators, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox. He was also interim manager for one game with the 1963 Senators.
He is not to be confused with another player of a similar name, Eddie Joost, who also drew over 1,000 walks. Their careers overlapped and both played many years in the American League. In 1952, Yost was first in the league in walks, and Joost was second. The two are not, however, on each other's similarity scores. Yost had more career at-bats and hits, and had a higher batting average and on-base percentage.
Speaking with Brent Kelley in 1993, Yost was asked to name the players who'd really stood out during his 40 years in the game:
" Yogi, and all the Yankees, for that matter. But I saw Clemente when I was coaching for the Mets. I believe he was the best I saw." --- Brent Kelley, Baseball Stars of the 1950s: Interviews With All-Stars of the Game's Golden Era (Jefferson, McFarland and Company, 1993), p. 187
Talk about the grass being greener... Yost, clearly one of most selective hitters in the history of the game, when asked to name the best of the best, comes up with none other than arguably the two best – undisputably the two best-known – bad-ball hitters ever.
Speaking of these three, forget about that envisioned-for-Clemente but enacted-by- Mazeroski triple play filmed at Shea for the 1967 film, “The Odd Couple.” The true odd couple at Shea in the late sixties was the pair of coaches filling out the front row of this 1969 Mets team photo: the last two uniformed Mets on the left, Yogi Berra and Eddie Yost.
On the other hand, notwithstanding their vastly divergent BA/OBP differentials, Yost and Clemente could find common ground in the brutal [i.e. ridiculous for right-handers] dimensions of their respective domiciles [Griffith Stadium and Forbes Field] – at least in their respective primes [1955 thru June 1970 for RC, 1944 thru 1958 for EY].
Eddie is one of three major leaguers named "Yost". Two of the three (Eddie and Ned Yost) were also managers.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- AL All-Star (1952)
- 2-time AL On-Base Percentage Leader (1959 & 1960)
- AL Runs Scored Leader (1959)
- AL Doubles Leader (1951)
- 6-time AL Bases on Balls (1950, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1959 & 1960)
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1959)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 5 (1950, 1951, 1953, 1954 & 1959)
