Baseball, as we all know, can be either an extremely simple or very complicated game. Explaining baseball to someone unfamiliar with the sport usually ends up the in latter category. While it’s relatively easy to explain what a home run is, trying to explain why an outfield may shift between batters or why a batter would attempt a suicide squeeze, or why a base runner would steal on particular count, can be a bit more challenging.
Depending on the team, a lot of these calls are made or not made by the players themselves, but from the dugout by the manager and/or his group of coaches. In the upcoming weeks, we will attempt to break down the general responsibilities and a brief background of these behind-the-scenes men who coach The Royals. This, hopefully, will give our readers a little insight into the often misunderstood and maligned lives of The Royals coaching staff.
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First up on our list is the current manager of the Kansas City Royals, Edgar Frederick “Ned” Yost III. Yost has been the captain of the Royals since 2010, after the departure of Trey Hillman (the two look somewhat similar). Yost came to Kansas City after managing The Milwaukee Brewers from 2003-2008. As of March of 2014, his record as a major league manager is 741-832 or .471. Before managing in the show, Yost spent some time in the Braves organization as a manager in their minor league system. After his call up in 1991, Yost was promoted to (no kidding) a Braves bullpen coach, getting a ring after their World Series win in 1995. The promotion to bullpen coach actually made sense after all; Yost himself had a brief stint as a player in the majors as a catcher.
Having played for the Brewers from 1980-1983 (including the World Series in 1982), the Texas Rangers in 1984 and finally the Montreal Expos in 1985, Yost finished his major league playing career with a lifetime batting average of .212 – better than both Mendoza and Uecker!
Although Yost wasn’t an everyday player, never batting more than 242 times in any of his five season, it seems that coaching was Ned’s real forte. As the manager for the Kansas City Royals (like all Major League managers), Ned is responsible for all on-field decision making (some will cringe) and carrying out the orders of the general manager, i.e. roster moves. Some of Ned’s duties include, but are not limited to, filling out the line-up card, selecting the starting rotation, and knowing when and who to send in from the bullpen (don’t laugh – we’ve only played two games in 2014).
Depending on the manager, some allow the bench or baseline coaches to make certain calls like bunting or stealing. Others make all of the decisions themselves. Ned, like other managers, is responsible for everything that happens from the first pitch until the final out.
No doubt, managing is a very difficult job. Dealing with the egos of professional athletes, giving post-game interviews ad nauseam and the crushing criticism of “smarter fans” would be more than most would ever be able to deal with. Sometimes getting “Yosted” is not always Ned’s fault, but sometimes it is.
