Kansas City Royals: Ned Yost and mediocre middle infielders

Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost loves himself some mediocre middle infielders. Chris Owings is just the latest of the bunch.

Ned Yost has created an interesting legacy during his time with the Kansas City Royals. He has brought the team to consecutive World Series appearances in 2014 and 2015, winning the latter. Yost has been the longest tenured manager in Royals history, and will likely find himself in the Royals Hall of Fame once his time on the bench is over.

Yet, for all of that success, there have been plenty of criticisms of Yost. Those teams are considered to have won in spite of his presence, particularly since the bullpen was so dominant. Yost has also been criticized for his loyalty to certain players, keeping them in the lineup when there is simply no reason to.

That latter critique is seemingly valid, especially given his fondness for mediocre middle infielders. Every year, the Royals have one player who is in the lineup daily, yet provides virtually nothing other than girt. Chris Owings is the latest of that line, a player that contributes nothing on offense, yet finds himself in the lineup every day. However, he is not the first, and likely will not be the last, at least as long as Yost remains on the bench.

Let us go back through Ned Yost’s time with the Kansas City Royals, and look back at those mediocre middle infielders who played far more than they deserved.