Eddie Joost

Infobox MLB retired
name=Eddie Joost
position=Shortstop / Manager


bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1916|6|5
San Francisco, California
debutdate=September 11
debutyear=by|1936
debutteam=Cincinnati Reds
finaldate=September 25
finalyear=by|1955
finalteam=Boston Red Sox
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.239
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=134
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=601
teams=As Player
* Cincinnati Reds (by|1936-by|1942)
* Boston Braves (by|1943, by|1945)
* Philadelphia Athletics (by|1947-by|1954)
* Boston Red Sox (by|1955)As Manager
* Philadelphia Athletics (by|1954)
highlights=
* 2x All-Star selection (1949, 1952)
* World Series champion (1940)

Edwin David Joost (born June 5, 1916, in San Francisco, California) is a former shortstop and playing manager in American Major League Baseball. In 1954, Joost became the third and last manager in the 54-year history of the Philadelphia Athletics. Under Joost, the A's finished last in the American League and lost over 100 games. After that season, they relocated to Kansas City.

An outstanding defensive player, the righthanded-hitting Joost hit for power but had trouble making contact. In a 17-year major league playing career (1936-37; 1939-43; 1945; 1947-55) for the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Braves, Athletics and Boston Red Sox, Joost smashed 134 home runs, but his batting average was a poor .239. In 1943, as a Boston Brave, Joost batted only .185 in 421 at bats.

His poor contact hitting notwithstanding, Joost was a central figure in the brief revival of the Athletics in the late 1940s. For three seasons — 1947 through 1949 — the A's, after over a decade of futility, played over .500 baseball and even sniffed pennant contention. Joost was their regular shortstop and one of the team's leaders. He twice hit over 20 home runs, and batted .289 in 1951.

One factor contributing to Joost's performance with the A's was his decision to wear eyeglasses on the field, which he had avoided earlier in his career because of the negative stereotype of athletes with eyewear at the time. After speaking with A's legendary manager Connie Mack, Joost began to wear his glasses while playing — and improved his hitting.

Despite his low lifetime batting average, Joost had excellent patience at the plate, resulting in six straight seasons of 100 walks or more, and a career on-base percentage of .361. In 1949, he had one the least-known great seasons by a shortstop, having an OBP of .429, hitting 23 home runs, scoring 128 runs and walking 149 times.

But the Athletics' resurgence after World War II was brief. Beset by a poor farm system and limited finances, the Mackmen could not compete with the Yankees, Indians and Red Sox. Mack, the team's Hall of Fame patriarch and manager, retired at age 87 after the 1950 campaign. Veteran Jimmie Dykes took the helm from 1951-53, and — thanks to the American League MVP, pitcher Bobby Shantz — sparked one last revival in 1952. But the A's fell to seventh in 1953, prompting Dykes' departure, and Joost, who had appeared in only 51 games in '53, became player-manager in '54. He batted .362 in 47 at bats, but the team won only 51 of 154 games (.331) and Joost was fired after the season ended.

Joost continued his playing career as a utility infielder for the Red Sox in 1955, and in 1956 briefly managed the Pacific Coast League's San Francisco Seals, then the top Bosox farm club, in his hometown before leaving the game.

ee also

* Top 500 home run hitters of all time

External links

* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/J/Joost_Eddie.stm Baseball Library] - profile and chronology
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/j/joosted01.shtml Baseball Reference] statistics and analysis
* [http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080807&content_id=9034&vkey=hof_news&partnerId=hof_enews_081308 Baseball Hall of Fame "Legends" interview, August 2008]