Kansas City, Mo. ? Even as the losses piled up, Trey Hillman never lost the respect of his players or Kansas City’s management.

It was evident in the way the Royals allowed him to manage one last game, in the tears that filled general manager Dayton Moore’s eyes as he spoke about the man he hired to rebuild a struggling franchise.

Those losses were just too hard to overlook.

Trey Hillman, right, talks with umpire Mike DiMuro before the start of the Royals’ game Thursday against Cleveland. K.C. beat the Indians, but Hillman was fired as the Royals’ manager.

The Royals needed a change, and, tough as it was, Hillman had to take the fall.

Hillman became the first manager to get fired this season, bowing out with a graceful exit and a win in his final game Thursday.

Former Milwaukee manager Ned Yost will move from the front office to replace Hillman in the dugout for the remainder of the season.

“I love Trey Hillman, I love him as a … ,” said Moore, who needed several seconds to compose himself before continuing. “Obviously, it’s a very difficult decision. The process is very difficult, relationships that are formed are very strong, but at the end of the day we’ve got to make decisions that are best for our baseball team and our organization long-term and that’s the conclusion that we made.”

Hillman had been considered a manager-in-waiting after spending 12 years in the Yankees’ organization, where he won several manager of the year awards in the minors, and five more years in Japan. The 47-year-old built a reputation for working well with younger players, being attentive to details, possessing good communication skills.

He just didn’t win enough in Kansas City.

The Royals went 75-87 his first season in 2008, then dropped to a last-place tie in the AL Central at 65-97 in an injury-plagued 2009 season.

Kansas City entered this season with high expectations after adding a few new pieces and Zack Greinke back following his AL Cy Young Award last season.

Instead, the Royals seemed to take another step back.

Hillman, who had been criticized at times for his handling of the bullpen and in-game decisions, was 152-207 in two-plus seasons with the Royals, including 12-23 this year.