Royals' Ned Yost seems vindicated five years after his 'third base tree' rant

It was five years ago on Friday that Royals manager Ned Yost sat in the visiting manager's office at Oakland Coliseum and unleashed a rant that brought him instant derision from fans.

Mike Moustakas was batting just .189, and Yost was asked if he planned to stick with the third baseman.

“You know what?” Yost told Bob Dutton, who was covering the Royals for The Star. “Maybe when we get home, I can go to the third base tree and pick another third baseman. … Obviously, third basemen who can hit and hit with power, they must grow on trees.

“They’ve got to. Like relief pitchers. And starting pitchers. Right fielders. Left fielders. First basemen. All of these guys must grow on trees, and you must be able to just go get another good one. A ripe one. Make sure it’s ripe.

“Those trees are at a hidden location but, obviously, they’re somewhere. Because that’s what everyone wants to do. Let’s just go pluck another one out of the tree. That’s the nonsense that really ticks me off.”

The "third base tree" comment instantly became one of the most iconic quotes in Kansas City sports history.

It may be hard to remember now, but Moustakas was viewed by some as a bust. Named a top-10 prospect by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus ahead of the 2011 season, he had struggled early in his career.

On that Saturday afternoon five years ago, Moustakas had a career average of .247 with 29 home runs and 113 RBIs in 274 career games.

Yost insisted that day that it was too early to judge Moustakas. It's interesting to look back at the rest of what Yost had to say that day about Moustakas and how Yost had big expectations.

“The kid is going to be fine,” Yost told Dutton. “Yes, he’s fighting it right now. They’re all fighting it. They want success. They want to bring a championship to Kansas City. At times, the desire to win overwhelms them.

“I’ve been in baseball my whole life. I know which kids are going to work and which kids aren’t. He’s going to work. I’ve seen it too many times. (Being patient) with young guys works. It works.

“I went through these conversations 50 times (while managing) in Milwaukee. We’re nowhere close to baling on any of these kids, but I understand I’m going to have to answer (these questions) every week until (Moustakas) starts producing.

“But I’m going to tell you something, if I’m wrong on this kid, it’ll be the first. I’ve never been wrong on one of these kids who I’ve had conviction with. None of them. We’re talking about 15 guys over a 30-year career.

“There are just too many smart baseball people who see what I see. So with Hos (Eric Hosmer), with Moose, Salvy (Perez) and (Alcides) Escobar ... all of these kids, they’re going to be fine. They’re going to be very productive players.

“But if you think they’re going to be productive from the moment they get here just because they had great minor-league careers … no. There are huge lessons and journeys to endure at the major-league level

“There is no third baseman tree. You don’t go grab another one. You let him develop. Look at Gordy (Alex Gordon). When I came over here (in 2010), all I heard (from fans) was this kid is never going to be anything.

“No. You’re wrong. Give them time to develop. But I understand it. I know what the fans want. They want it, and they want it now. Instant gratification just doesn’t work (in baseball).”

Guess what happened after Yost's comments? Moustakas ... struggled. He went zero for three with a walk on that Saturday night, and batted just .118 over the next 11 games.

Moustakas hit just .233 with 12 home runs and a .287 on-base percentage and .364 slugging percentage in 2013. The following season, Moustakas was briefly demoted to Class AAA, but the Royals didn't bring in another third baseman.

On Aug. 18, 2014, Moustakas' average was .198, but he showed improvement over his final 37 games, batting .252. Still, Moustakas' .212 average for the season didn't prepare fans for his breakout postseason. Moustakas hit five home runs in 15 games as the Royals advanced to Game 7 of the World Series.

That playoff success was just the start.

In 2015, Moustakas batted .284, made his first All-Star Game, finished 21st in MVP voting and helped the Royals win the World Series.

After an injury-shortened 2016 season, Moustakas set the franchise record for home runs last year (38) and was an All-Star for the second time. This season, he's batting .294 with 10 doubles and 10 home runs with a slugging-plus-on-base percentage of .869, which is more than 200 points higher than in 2013.

It seems safe to say Yost was vindicated when he said five years ago that it would take time for Moustakas to reach his potential.

But, yeah, there is no third base tree.

This story was originally published May 18, 2018 at 10:02 AM with the headline "Royals' Ned Yost seems vindicated five years after his 'third base tree' rant."