| Eddie Joost |
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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. But beset by a poor Farm System and limited finances, the Mackmen could not compete with the Yankees , Indians and Red Sox . The team's Hall Of Fame patriarch and manager, Connie Mack , 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). Joost was a utility infielder for the Red Sox the following year, and in 1956 briefly managed the Bosox' San Francisco Seals farm club in his hometown before leaving the game. EXTERNAL LINKS
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