Former Mets Coach Eddie Yost Dies

Former Mets third base coach Eddie Yost has died at the age of 86. He passed away Tuesday morning in Massachusetts — another part of Mets history gone.

Yost was with the Mets from 1968 to 1976, at a time when coaches stayed with teams for long periods of times; not like today when they are disposable.

Along with Rube Walker and Joe Pignatano, Yost came to the Mets when they hired Gil Hodges. While the Brooklyn-born Yost left for the Red Sox, pitching coach Walker and hitting coach Pignatano stayed on until after the 1981 season, when the Mets cleaned house with the firing Joe Torre.

As a fan, it was kind of comforting having the same coaches around — they were the only constants while the managers and players changed.

It was also a time when benches weren’t packed with all sorts of coaches. Three were enough back then. Eddie Yost, Rube Walker and Joe Pignatano — that’s all the Mets needed.