Royals small connections to US Presidents

The state of Kansas and the Kansas City metro have several connections to US Presidents, such as the 33rd President Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Although both Kansas and Kansas City have connections to the late Presidents, none of Kansas City's professional baseball teams such as the Monarchs, Athletics, or the Royals had the chance to meet either of them. However, former Royals manager Ned Yost has been to the White House more than once. Yost has met five US Presidents during his time in baseball. The former manager's first interaction with a President was with 39th President Jimmy Carter while living just outside of Atlanta. Yost said the 39th President attended games regularly: "Jimmy used to come a lot to the Braves games, and you could walk down the tunnel going to the dugout when Jimmy was there because Secret Service guys were all outside his little room they had for him and I’d waltz right in there and go sit down,” Yost said. “Him and Rosalynn would be sitting on the couch, and I’d sit down and I’d talk to Jimmy for 15 or 20 minutes. He’d want to know about the team and I’d used to do that every time he came in.”  Carter is just one of the five Presidents Yost has met. The 68-year old’s second interaction with the Commander in Chief came while having a cup of coffee. Yost and former Braves manager Bobby Cox were having a conversation while drinking their coffee when, wouldn't you know it, President George H.W. Bush came over and chatted with them for a bit. "Bobby and I used to sit outside the dugout and have a cup of coffee between games and it was so cool because President Bush would come sit down with me and Bobby, and we’d just talk for 20 minutes and talk about how things were going and it was just us three and that was always cool.” 
Yost's many interactions with Presidents during his time in baseball continued back in 1995 when the Atlanta Braves (President Carter's favorite team) had won the World Series in 1996. Royals fans likely remember very well when Yost met 44th President Obama when the Royals beat the Mets in the 2015 World Series. Yost obviously owns the record for the most Kansas City managers/coaches to meet a President with five up to this point. 
Outside of management, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (Royals minority owner) has met two Presidents up to this point in Donald Trump and Joe Biden. With Mahomes having secured three Super Bowl victories and aiming for more, he stands poised to potentially surpass Ned Yost in presidential encounters, given the Chiefs' continued success in the Super Bowl.





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