With Kansas City, Ned Yost resurrected his managerial career not once, but twice

In everyday employment, it’s generally a red flag when an employee is fired one or more times in their chosen profession. Sometimes it’s due to weird or extenuating circumstances, sure, but hiring managers would at least raise an eyebrow at these candidates.

This, however, does not apply to head coaches in professional sports. In fact, the opposite is often true; the best candidates are often the ones that get fired, and it’s almost impossible to find a coach that hasn’t been booted from a previous team at least once. Look no further than Andy Reid, who was clearly the best head coach on the market in 2013 despite being unceremoniously thrown out of an organization in which he built up a considerable amount of goodwill. Reid is one of the best coaches in football. It happens.

Ned Yost was also one of those candidates. The Milwaukee Brewers fired Yost in 2008 in the midst of a playoff run, a weighty and damning firing. Yost’s Brewers were flailing down the stretch, thanks in no small part to a series of rather boneheaded bullpen decisions by Yost. The day after the Brewers dropped a doubleheader to the Philadelphia Phillies on September 14, they decided to make the move. They managed to staunch the bleeding and squeezed into the playoffs. But the damage to Yost’s reputation had been done.

Six years later to the day of that firing, Shaun Newkirk posted one of the most important articles of recent Royals Review lore: The needful end of Ned Yost. In it, Newkirk argued that Yost’s most recent blatant bullpen blunder—one of many, one that was so bad that the opposing batter was confused why he wasn’t facing someone else, and one that Yost himself disparaged after the game—to be the “event horizon” of Yost’s employment.

The Royals did not fire Yost. Just over two weeks later, it looked to blow up in his face, and the faces of every Royals fans alive or dead. James Shields kicked off the top of the sixth inning with a 3-2 lead. After yielding a single and a walk, Yost walked to the mount to replace him. Yost did not signal for Kelvin Herrera and his 1.41 ERA. Yost did not call on Wade Davis and his 39% strikeout rate. Instead, he put Yordano Ventura, a rookie, into the game in his first big league relief appearance. Predictably, it did not work—and Yost had to turn to Herrera anyway.

John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Yost resurrected his career in Kansas City the first time by simply being hired. To be let go in the middle of a playoff race is a giant neon light of no confidence, one that could have been to large to ignore. Instead, general manager Dayton Moore turned to Yost to help guide the young Royals guns to MLB success. Yost got a second chance.

On that night of September 30, 2014, I was sure that Yost’s sixth inning disaster would be the end of him. From the upper deck of Kauffman Stadium, I looked at my phone and watched Twitter explode with anger at Yost. I wondered if he would get fired before the night ended. Not often do you watch the first playoff game 29 years in the making and witness your team’s manager blow it so spectacularly.

But then again, Yost resurrected his career. The Royals won the Wild Card Game. I forgot about Yost as I gave jubilant high fives to total strangers and drove home delirious with happiness. Yost continued to ride the wave of success, the idiot dunce who outplayed the chessmaster. Eventually, Yost ended up with a ring. The Royals ended up with a ring. It’ll never be forgotten.

When Yost steps off the field one last time, it won’t be just as the winningest manager in Royals history. It won’t just be as a beloved figure who remained popular through two 100-loss seasons, a feat that is almost more impressive than anything else in his career. It will be as a phoenix who rose from the ashes not once, but twice, in the City of Fountains.

Grid View

• Manager Ned Yost #2 of the Kansas City Royals looks on from the dugout during the game against the Chicago White Sox on May 16, 2010 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
• Manager Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals congratulates right fielder Jeff Francoeur #21 after a game against the Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium on September 3, 2011 in Kansas City, Missouri. The Kansas City Royals defeated the Cleveland Indians 5-1. Photo by Tim Umphrey/Getty Images
• Pitcher Bruce Chen #52 of the Kansas City Royals is met at the mound by catcher Jason Kendall #18 and manager Ned Yost in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 27, 2010 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Josh Umphrey/Getty Images
• Manager Ned Yost #3 of the Kansas City Royals (C) talks to relief pitcher Blake Wood #38 as the rest of the team gather on the mound during the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox at U. S. Cellular Field on September 24, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. Photo by Brian Kersey/Getty Images
• Ned Yost #3 manager of the Kansas City Royals argues a call with home plate umpire Mike Everitt during a game against the Chicago White Sox on August 12, 2011 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois. Photo by David Banks/Getty Images
• General Manager Dayton Moore and Manager Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals watch batting practice during a game against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium on August 5, 2011 in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images
• Mike Moustakas #8 of the Kansas City Royals gets ready to bat from the dugout as manager Ned Yost #8 looks on during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays on August 31, 2013 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
• Manager Ned Yost #3 of the Kansas City Royals waves ot the fans after they defeated the Oakland Athletics 9 to 8 in the 12th inning of their American League Wild Card game at Kauffman Stadium on September 30, 2014 in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images
• Manager Ned Yost #3 the Kansas City Royals celebrates with Lorenzo Cain #6 on the field after defeating the Los Angeles Angels 8-3 to sweep the series in Game Three of the American League Division Series at Kauffman Stadium on October 5, 2014 in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
• Manager Ned Yost #3 the Kansas City Royals celebrates on the field after defeating the Los Angeles Angels 8-3 to sweep the series in Game Three of the American League Division Series at Kauffman Stadium on October 5, 2014 in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images
• Manager Ned Yost #3 of the Kansas City Royals celebrates their 2 to 1 win over the Baltimore Orioles to sweep the series in Game Four of the American League Championship Series at Kauffman Stadium on October 15, 2014 in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
• 2014 World Series Game 3: Kansas City Royals v. San Francisco Giants
• Alcides Escobar #2 of the Kansas City Royals, manager Ned Yost #3 of the Kansas City Royals, and Jarrod Dyson #1 of the Kansas City Royals celebrate after the Kansas City Royals defeat the Houston Astros 7-2 in game five of the American League Divison Series at Kauffman Stadium on October 14, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
• Yordano Ventura #30 of the Kansas City Royals reacts as he is taken out of the game by manager Ned Yost in the sixth inning while taking on the Toronto Blue Jays in game six of the 2015 MLB American League Championship Series at Kauffman Stadium on October 23, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
• Manager Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals celebrates after the Royals 4-3 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays in game six of the 2015 MLB American League Championship Series at Kauffman Stadium on October 23, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
• Salvador Perez #13 of the Kansas City Royals douses manager Ned Yost #3 of the Kansas City Royals after the Kansas City Royals defeat the New York Mets in Game Five of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field on November 1, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Mets with a score of 7 to 2 to win the World Series. Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
• Manager Ned Yost #3 of the Kansas City Royals waves to the crowd during a parade and celebration in honor of the Kansas City Royals’ World Series win on November 3, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
• Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost gives first baseman Eric Hosmer (35) a hug after coming out of the game in the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday, Sept., 30, 2017. John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
• Manager Ned Yost #3 of the Kansas City Royals walks off the field with his arm around Marisol Hernandez, mother of deceased pitcher Yordano Ventura #30, as Ventura’s grandfather Raul Hernandez follows prior to the Royals 2017 home opener against the Oakland Athletics at Kauffman Stadium on April 10, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. Marisol Hernandez threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
• SEPTEMBER 14: Manager Ned Yost #3 of the Kansas City Royals walks out to relieve starting pitcher Mike Montgomery in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Kauffman Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by John Sleezer/Getty Images