Kansas City Royals: Seven potential successors to Ned Yost

The Retread

Matt Williams, Third Base Coach, Oakland Athletics

Lest we forget, Ned Yost failed in his managerial post. He managed the Milwaukee Brewers for just under six full seasons, fired with just games left 2008.

In his time leading the Brewers, he went 457-502, leading the team to a second place finish in 2007. After canning him, Milwaukee finished 7-5 before quietly bowing out in the National League Divisional Series in four games.

Then Yost landed in Kansas City in 2010, and in his sixth season led the Kansas City Royals to eternal glory.

Sure, hiring a retread isn’t the sexiest idea in sports. Retreads looking for a second or third or sometimes even fourth shot at managing is boring while hiring a fresh face is exciting, mostly due to the unknown, which offers great promise.

But consider this: there are currently 12 retread managers in the majors, seven in the American League and five in the National League. That’s more than I thought there would be. Some of those guys have enjoyed great success in their second stops, including Joe Maddon, Bruce Bochy, A.J Hinch, and Yost, all of whom have won World Series with team number two. Terry Francona has turned Cleveland into a winner.

Point being, at least those handful of guys must have learned something after getting fired at their first stop.

Has Matt Williams learned something since getting canned by the Washington Nationals? Williams, the current third base coach for the Athletics and former slugging third baseman for the Giants, Indians, and Diamondbacks, managed the Nationals for two seasons in 2014 and 2015.

His first season, the Nationals won 96 games before quickly losing in the NLDS. His second season, the team fell to 83-79, missed the playoffs, and cost Williams his job. Since, he’s coached third base for Arizona and now Oakland.

Williams lost the clubhouse in Washington in 2015, a huge problem, but that wasn’t all that cost him his gig. Has he improved his personal relationships? Is he a better tactician now than then? Perhaps. Tough to tell when you’re coaching third and not leading the whole gang.

Those are questions that Moore would undoubtedly ask and investigate. If Moore gets a good feeling, he could do worse than hiring a guy with a .552 winning percentage and a Manager of the Year award.

Especially a guy who once took on the Big Mac* mano y mano.

*By the way, in the play that sparked that brawl, current Royal Ian Kennedy nailed former Royal Zack Greinke in the head. Trey Hillman also makes an appearance. Very strange.

Another interesting thing about Williams: his current boss is Bob Melvin, a two-time retread, having previously managed and been fired by Seattle and Arizona. I guess if there’s one guy a fired manager could learn something from about how to keep getting top jobs, it’s Melvin.

Others Considered: Joe Girardi (yeah, right), Chip Hale, Fredi Gonzalez, Mike “Manifesto” Matheny, Bob Geren, and Walt Weiss.