Carl Yastrzemski
Arriving in 1961 to replace Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzremski eventually won the hearts of Boston fans, and became arguably more popular than Williams. He won three batting titles and played a Gold Glove left field in front of the Green Monster. In 1967 he hit .379 with nine homers and 22 RBI in the Sox' final 39 games to carry the team to the World Series. Eight seasons later, a more veteran Yaz helped the Sox return to the Series, only to lose in the seventh game again. He retired in 1983 among the all-time leaders in games, hits and RBI.
Quotes From Yastrzemski
"It's almost a shame that one of these teams had to lose. Both deserved to win. The Yankees played like champions. But we played some of our best baseball in the last two weeks and caught them. I'm proud of this Red Sox team." — after the Red Sox lost the one-game playoff in 1978 for the AL East title
Played For
Boston Red Sox (1961-1983)
All-Time Rankings
Carl Yastrzemski ranks #6 among the Top 50 all-time at LF. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1967
In one of the greatest single-season performances in history, Yaz led the Sox to their "Impossible Dream" pennant. In the final 12 games, Yaz had 23 hits in 44 at-bats (.523), with five home runs, 14 runs scored and 16 RBI. The Red Sox needed to win the last two games against the Twins to avoid a three-way tie with Minnesota and Detroit. Yaz went 7-for-8 with five RBI in the doubleheader, including a three-run homer in the first game. He also snuffed out a Twin rally by throwing out Bob Allison at second base on what looked like a sure double. He won the Triple Crown, the last player to do so, and was honored as AL MVP. He missed out on a unanimous MVP by one vote (Cesar Tovar received one first-place vote).
Description
Yaz was notorious for switching his batting stance after a few hitless games. His teammates razzed him about this, but he continued the practice throughout his career. Cal Ripken Jr. also gained a reputation for changing his stance.
Where He Played
Left field. Yaz played one season in center field (1964), when Tony Conigliaro was in left. Yaz also played 765 games at first base (mostly 1970 on), and 411 games as a DH. In 1973, manager Eddie Kasko tried Yaz at third base for about a month. Yaz made 12 errors and was returned to first base.
Born
Carl Michael Yastrzemski was born on August 22, 1939, in Southampton, NY.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
Primary Position: OF
Primary Team: BOS
Major League Debut
April 11, 1961
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1961
Carl Yastrzemski
Lou Brock
Boog Powell
Jim Fregosi
Sam McDowell
Dean Chance
Al Downing
Bill Freehan
Eddie Brinkman
Nicknames
Yaz, Captain Carl
Uniform Numbers
#8 (1961-1983)
Related Players
Ted Williams was the LF prior to Yaz... Jim Rice followed Yaz in LF for the Sox... Satchel Paige made his ML comeback at the age of 59(?) on September 25, 1965, and hurled three shutout innings, allowing just one hit...to Yastrzemski.
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 1989 |
BBWAA |
423 |
94.6% |
|
Post-Season Appearances
1967 World Series
1975 American League Championship Series
1975 World Series
Post-Season Notes
In addition to his 1967 feats detailed at the right, Yaz was a tremendous clutch player throughout his career. He hit a blistering .455 in the 1975 ALCS and .310 in that year's World Series. In the famous 1978 playoff game against the Yankees, he hit a home run off the nearly-unbeatable Ron Guidry. Thus, in his 17 post-season games, the final 12 games of the 1967 season, and the 1978 one-game AL East playoff - the 30 most important games of his long career - Yaz hit .430 (49-for-114) with 10 homers, 29 RBI, and 31 runs scored.
Awards and Honors
1963 AL Gold Glove
1965 AL Gold Glove
1967 AL Gold Glove
1967 AL MVP
1967 AL Triple Crown
1968 AL Gold Glove
1969 AL Gold Glove
1970 ML AS MVP
1971 AL Gold Glove
1977 AL Gold Glove
Milestones
On September 12, 1979, Yastrzemski singled off New York's Jim Beattie for his 3,000th career hit. The Sox won the contest 9-2, as Yaz became the first AL player to collect both 3,000 hits and 400 HRs. Henry Aaron and Willie Mays had done it in the NL... On May 25, 1981, Yaz played in his 3,000th major-league game, scoring the winning run in Boston's 8-7 triumph over Cleveland. Yaz joined Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, and Hank Aaron as the only major leaguers to appear in 3,000 games.
Milestones
- July 24, 1979: 400th HR... Off of Mike Morgan
- September 12, 1979: 3000th Hit... Hit came off Jim Beattie, and was a single.
Batting Feats
- May 14, 1965: Cycle...
- May 19, 1976: 3 HR...
Notes
Yaz was presented with a special trophy by Seagram's in honor of his 1967 Triple Crown season. The trophy was fine except for one detail - Yaz's name was spelled wrong, they had forgotten the "z". Yastrzemski sent the trophy back and was promised a replacement. As of 2002 he was still waiting for it.
Hitting Streaks
15 games (1970)
Hall of Fame Artifacts
A gun and holster that was give to Yaz by Gene Autry, is in the HOF collection.
All-Star Selections
1963 AL
1965 AL
1966 AL
1967 AL
1968 AL
1969 AL
1970 AL
1971 AL
1972 AL
1973 AL
1974 AL
1975 AL
1976 AL
1977 AL
1978 AL
1979 AL
1982 AL
1983 AL
Replaced
Ted Williams
Replaced By
The cool answer would be Jim Rice. Rice did essentially replace Yaz as the Red Sox' everyday left fielder, but Yaz had been shuffling between first, DH, and the outfield for a few years by the time Ruiice emerged in 1975. In 1984, Mike Easler assumed Yaz's role as the team DH.
Best Strength as a Player
Just about everything.
Largest Weakness as a Player
Speed. Yaz was also a streaky hitter. When he was on — which was a lot — he was really on. But he could also dive into a funk for a week or two. He never had a hitting streak longer than 15 games.
Learn More about Carl Yastrzemski
Search Amazon.com for Books about Carl Yastrzemski ⇒
Search for Carl Yastrzemski at Google ⇒
View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒
