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Edward Frederick Yost
Washington Nationals
Third Base
Born: October 13, 1926, Brooklyn, NY
Signed: Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before 1944 season
Major League Teams: Washington Senators 1944, 1946-1958; Detroit Tigers 1959-1960; Los Angeles Angels 1961-1962
As a Manager: Washington Senators 1963
Died: October 16, 2012, Weston, MA (age 86)
As the long-time regular third baseman and lead-off man for the Washington Senators, Eddie Yost earned the nickname "The Walking Man" by topping the American League in walks in six different seasons. His 1,614 career walks still ranks him 11th on baseball's all-time list. Yost led the league in doubles in 1951 with 36 and was an All-Star in 1952. After 14 seasons with the basement-dwelling Senators, Yost was traded to the Tigers in December 1958 to make room for the up and coming Harmon Killebrew (#164). With the Tigers, Yost enjoyed two of his best seasons, leading the league in runs scored (115) in 1959 and on-base percentage in both 1959 and 1960. He was selected by the Angels in the 1960 expansion draft and holds the distinction of being the first ever Angel to appear in a game as he was their lead-off hitter in the franchise's first game on April 11, 1961. Yost retired after 18 seasons with a career .254 batting average, 139 home runs and a .394 on-base percentage. A fine fielder too, he owned a lifetime fielding percentage of .957. His 28 lead-off home runs were the most ever until Bobby Bonds broke in his record in the 1970s.
After his playing career, Yost began a 23-year career as a coach. He briefly served as a player-coach with the 1962 Angels and then began a five-year stint as a Senators coach in 1963. When his former teammate Mickey Vernon (#228) was fired as Senators manager, Yost served as an interim manager for one game (a loss) before Gil Hodges (#145) took over. Yost followed Hodges to the Mets where he served as a coach between 1968 and 1976, and he earned his only World Series ring as the third base coach for the 1969 "Miracle Mets" team. His final coaching job came with the Red Sox under managers Don Zimmer (#99) and Ralph Houk between 1977 and 1984.
Building the Set
Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #11
One of the Original 44, I recently re-told the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Ed Mathews (#107) post. Given how many times I handled those 44 cards throughout the 1980s, it's amazing this card is still in the great shape it's in.
The Card / Nationals Team Set
In order to be able to spell out Yost's "third base" position, Topps shortened the team name to just "Nats" for the first time in this set. Presumably under exclusive contract with Bowman, this card marks Yost's return to Topps sets for the first time since 1952. The back of the card highlights his fine play at third base and his ability to draw walks. The last cartoon panel mentions his degree from New York University. I'm assuming he earned his undergraduate degree in 1950, as his Wikipedia biography states he earned his Master's degree in physical education in 1953.
1956 Season
Yost appeared in 152 games for the Senators, leading the league in walks with 151 and earning an on-base percentage of .412 despite a batting average of only .231. To date, that's the lowest batting average for any player with an on-base percentage over .400 in any season. Late in the summer, it appeared as if Yost may be on track to break Babe Ruth's record for most walks in a season (170). However, Yost's 151 walks fell short but still easily lead the league with Mickey Mantle (#135) finishing a distant second with 39 fewer walks. In mid-September, Yost was replaced at third base by Killebrew for the Senators' final 18 games - a sign of things to come.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1949 Bowman #32
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1951-1952, 1956-1962, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2011 Topps Lineage Autographs #RA-EY
77 - Yost non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/27/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Building the Set
Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #11
One of the Original 44, I recently re-told the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Ed Mathews (#107) post. Given how many times I handled those 44 cards throughout the 1980s, it's amazing this card is still in the great shape it's in.
The Card / Nationals Team Set
In order to be able to spell out Yost's "third base" position, Topps shortened the team name to just "Nats" for the first time in this set. Presumably under exclusive contract with Bowman, this card marks Yost's return to Topps sets for the first time since 1952. The back of the card highlights his fine play at third base and his ability to draw walks. The last cartoon panel mentions his degree from New York University. I'm assuming he earned his undergraduate degree in 1950, as his Wikipedia biography states he earned his Master's degree in physical education in 1953.
1956 Season
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First Mainstream Card: 1949 Bowman #32
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1951-1952, 1956-1962, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2011 Topps Lineage Autographs #RA-EY
77 - Yost non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/27/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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