Royals’ Ned Yost “proud” to inform Whit Merrifield he was an All-Star
Major League Baseball teams and players were under strict orders not to reveal the selections until after they’d been announced later that evening.
For several hours after Whit Merrifield had been told he’d been named an All-Star, the players and coaching staff of the Royals were the only ones who knew the news.
Sunday evening, the Royals social media accounts posted the video of manager Ned Yost announcing to the entire team that Merrifield had been selected to the American League All-Star Team prior to Sunday’s game in Toronto. The two embraced after Yost’s announcement.
Yost, who’d been a part of All-Star Games as a manager representing the Royals, but he’d also taken part as a coach dating back to his tenure on Bobby Cox’s staff with Atlanta Braves in the 1990s.
“It’s an honor that they can never take away from you,” Yost said. “I literally believe for the rest of your life you’re going to be known as an American League All-Star, a baseball All-Star. I just think that it’s a very special time.
“I think Whit should’ve made it last year. The numbers just didn’t work out right for him. I was really hoping that he would make it this year with the year that he had. I was so proud that he did.”
Merrifield became the 17th player to earn All-Star honors since general manager Dayton Moore took over the front office in 2007.
“For me, I didn’t understand the All-Star Game until I had the opportunity to participate in it,” Yost said. “I think I’ve been to seven of them now. I always thought, man I really like having these three days off. I’d rather do that, until my first All-Star Game. Then never did I not want to go. It’s a fantastic event for the players, for your family, for the city.
“I’m just astounded how you can walk into a locker room full of All-Stars, a lot of guys you don’t like because you have to compete against them, and they walk into the locker room and for three days become a team. Guys that I couldn’t stand playing against — Barry Bond and Josh Donaldson with their edges, Manny Machado — you get into that locker room and they’re the funnest guys to be around. They’re great because now all of a sudden they’re you’re teammate, you’re not competing against them. I was shocked.”
Yost said that’s been his experience for every one of the All-Star Games he’s been a part of with one exception.
In 1998, Gary Sheffield and Jason Kendall were on the same All-Star team after having been involved in a fight on the field after an altercation following a play at the plate in a late June game with Sheffield running and Kendall catching. Shieffield reportedly went ot the hospital due to a cut he received during the incident.
There was “tension” that in the National League clubhouse, according to Yost. Other than that time, Yost has always viewed the All-Star Game as a “wonderful experience.”
Rehab continues: Adalberto Mondesi played the entire game in the field for Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Sunday, his second game of a minor-league rehab stint. Mondesi went 1-for-5 with a double, and he committed a throwing error.
Mondesi is eligible to come off the injured list. He hasn’t played since June 18 due to a groin strain.
A pro with potential: Royals’ top draft pick Bobby Witt Jr. made his professional debut for the organization’s Arizona League (rookie level) affiliate. Witt Jr., the national high school player of the year and No. 2 overall draft pick, went 3-for-6 with a stolen, a run scored and an RBI.
This story was originally published July 1, 2019 at 1:24 PM.
