Eddie Joost

Edwin David Joost

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Mission High School (San Francisco)
• Debut September 11, 1936
• Final Game September 25, 1955
• Born June 5, 1916 in San Francisco, CA USA
• Died April 12, 2011 in Fair Oaks, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Eddie Joost played 17 years in the majors. Although his batting average was low, he drew copious walks and thus had an outstanding on-base percentage. He also had some power, hitting 134 homers in his career. Playing primarily shortstop, he showed above-average range.

He walked over 100 times six separate seasons. Although Joost never led the league in walks, he was second three different times. In 1949 he led the league in strikeouts while finishing fourth in the league in walks - and hit .206. Although his batting average that year was 50 points below the league average, his on-base percentage was 15 points over the league average.

Joost's career was almost exactly contemporaneous to that of Phil Cavarretta. Joost played from 1936-1955, while Cavarretta played from 1934-1955. Both managed in the 1950s for a bit.

He is not to be confused with another player of a similar name, Eddie Yost, who also drew over 1,000 walks. Their careers overlapped, both had some power, and both played many years in the American League as infielders. In 1952, Yost was first in the league in walks, and Joost was second. Both were briefly American League managers. The two are not, however, on each other's similarity scores lists.

Joost started in pro ball at a young age with the San Francisco Missions in 1933. He said he learned a lot from manager Willie Kamm. He was with Syracuse in 1937 and Kansas City in 1938. He found power around the end of World War II while playing for Rochester. In the 1950s, he managed the San Francisco Seals for half a season. After baseball he spent ten years in Honolulu, HI working for Wilson Sporting Goods. He died near Sacramento, CA in 2011, at age 94.

Source: Baseball Digest article, June 1, 2002.

Notable Achievements

• 2-time AL All-Star (1949 & 1952)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1949 & 1952)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 2 (1949 & 1951)
• Won a World Series with the Cincinnati Reds in 1940

Preceded by Jimmie Dykes

Philadelphia Athletics Manager 1954

Succeeded by Lou Boudreau

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1954	Philadelphia Athletics	American League	51-103	8th	Philadelphia Athletics
1956	San Francisco Seals	Pacific Coast League	44-59	--	Boston Red Sox		replaced by Joe Gordon on July 9

Further Reading

• Bill Nowlin: "Eddie Joost", in Bill Nowlin, ed.: Van Lingle Mungo: The Man, The Song, The Players, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2014, pp. 23-27. ISBN 978-1-933599-76-2

Related Sites

• Eddie Joost at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Manager page