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Royals manager Ned Yost announces retirement

Royals manager Ned Yost will retire on Sunday. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB via Getty Images)
Royals manager Ned Yost will retire on Sunday. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB via Getty Images)

The Kansas City Royals announced on Monday that manager Ned Yost will be retiring at the end of the 2019 season.

Yost, 65, has managed the Royals since 2010. He saw the franchise through a rebuild, 22 playoff wins, a World Series championship in 2015, and the start of a new rebuild with new ownership.

“With the development of our young players and our returning veterans, I feel and hope the worst is behind us in this rebuilding phase of our organization,” said Yost in a statement. “My plan all along was to get us through the rough times then turn it over to a new manager to bring us the rest of the way. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here as your manager and will never forget the good and hard times we had together as an organization and a fan base. I will never forget the fact that you fans supported us through it all. Kansas City will always have a special place in my heart, and I look forward to rooting the Royals on to their next World Championship very soon.”

Yost is a baseball lifer who began his career as a backup catcher. He spent parts of six seasons in the majors, which ended with a five-game late-season stint with the Montreal Expos in 1985. He became the Atlanta Braves’ bullpen coach in 1991, which was pretty much the perfect time to join that team — the Braves were about to enter a period of intense dominance. He transitioned to third base coach in 1999, and in 2002 landed his first managerial gig with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Yost managed the Brewers until 2008 when he was fired just a few weeks before the team would play in the postseason. The Royals hired him in 2010, and it was a match made in heaven. He’s the winningest manager in Royals history, just shy of 750 victories. He was the first manager in franchise history to lead the team to two straight World Series appearances, and led the Royals to their second World Series championship.

Yost will officially retire on Sunday, Sept. 29, the last day of the 2019 regular season. The Royals are playing at home that day, so Yost will get a proper send-off from players, employees and fans.

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