After sixteen seasons as a manager in the Major Leagues, Ned Yost and the Royals announced that the 2019 campaign will be the veteran manager’s final year at the helm of the team.
Yost announced his retirement in a press release after Kansas City’s 12-8 loss at the hands of the Minnesota Twins.
The 65-year-old manager will finish out the season with the Royals, who have a 2-game home series against the Atlanta Braves and a 3-game home set against the Twins left on the docket.
Yost took over as Kansas City’s manager in May of 2010 with the franchise in the depths of a long streak without a winning season and without a playoff series.
While Yost struggled in his first three seasons with the team, management showed their confidence in the California native before the 2012 season. And boy, did it pay off.
The Royals finished 86-76 in 2013, the team’s first winning record since 2003. The next season, they advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1985, advancing to the World Series before losing to the Giants.
Yost guided the Royals to the top of the baseball mountain in 2015, leading the team to its first World Series victory in three decades.
The final four seasons of Yost’s tenure have finished without the team having a winning record, which probably has something to due with his departure.
Nonetheless, Yost will go down as a Royals legend and a beloved figure after leading the franchise’s mid-2010s turnaround.
