On my list of all-time blunders, Yost's ranks #3 due to the innumerable mitigating factors which makes his decision completely retarded...
#1 - Dodgers forfeit home field advantage for 1951 playoff against the New York Giants because they don't want to deal with the extreme travel time from Brooklyn to New York for Game 1.
#2 - Don Zimmer's insistence on playing an injured Butch Hobson at 3B down the stretch of the 1978 season, blowing a big lead over the Yankees and essentially giving the Yankees the division. Hobson regularly plays 3B and has a sub .900 fielding percentage, making 43 errors. For a point of comparison, the worst fielding 3B I've ever seen (Keith Moreland, 1987 Cubs) had a .934 FP and made 28 errors.
#3 - Ned Yost pulls James Shields in the 6th inning. Mitigating factors...Shields was a workhorse and had only thrown 88 pitches...after giving up 2 early runs, Shields had held the A's scoreless the rest of the way...Shields had given up a broken bat single and a 3-2 walk and did not appear tired...Royals were winning 3-2...instead of bringing in one of his 3 sub 1.50 ERA relievers, Yost brings in a rookie starter who made 1 relief appearance all year...Ventura is immediately wild, gives up a HR to straight CF, gives up another hit, and the A's have a 5-run 6th.
#1 - Dodgers forfeit home field advantage for 1951 playoff against the New York Giants because they don't want to deal with the extreme travel time from Brooklyn to New York for Game 1.
#2 - Don Zimmer's insistence on playing an injured Butch Hobson at 3B down the stretch of the 1978 season, blowing a big lead over the Yankees and essentially giving the Yankees the division. Hobson regularly plays 3B and has a sub .900 fielding percentage, making 43 errors. For a point of comparison, the worst fielding 3B I've ever seen (Keith Moreland, 1987 Cubs) had a .934 FP and made 28 errors.
#3 - Ned Yost pulls James Shields in the 6th inning. Mitigating factors...Shields was a workhorse and had only thrown 88 pitches...after giving up 2 early runs, Shields had held the A's scoreless the rest of the way...Shields had given up a broken bat single and a 3-2 walk and did not appear tired...Royals were winning 3-2...instead of bringing in one of his 3 sub 1.50 ERA relievers, Yost brings in a rookie starter who made 1 relief appearance all year...Ventura is immediately wild, gives up a HR to straight CF, gives up another hit, and the A's have a 5-run 6th.
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