Books and articles about Carl Yastrzemski

Signed as a shortstop off the Notre Dame campus in February 1959, Yastrzemski replaced Ted Williams in left field for the Boston Red Sox in 1961 and followed him into the Hall of Fame in 1989. When he retired after 23 years, Yastrzemski ranked first in career games (3,308), third in at-bats (11,988) and walks (1,845), sixth in total bases (5,539), seventh in hits (3,419) and doubles (646), and ninth in RBI (1,844). He's the only American League player with both 3000 hits and 400 homers.

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Although he won three batting titles, played in 18 All-Star games, and was acknowledged as the finest defensive left fielder of his time, Yastrzemski will be primarily remembered by Red Sox rooters for his 1967 season, the year of The Impossible Dream. Starved for a pennant for 21 seasons, Fenway partisans had no reason to think that 1967 would be any different from the miserable ninth-place finish of 1966. But, going into the final week, four teams were still in the race and three teams would finish within a game of one another. Yastrzemski almost single-handledly carried the club during the last month. In the final 12 games, he had 23 hits in 44 at-bats (.523), with five home runs, 14 runs and 16 RBI. The Red Sox needed to win the last two games with the Twins to avoid a three-way tie with them and Detroit. Yastrzemski went 7-for-8 with five RBI, 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.

Yastrzemski hit .400 with three homers in the World Series. He won the Triple Crown by hitting .326 with 44 HR and 121 RBI and also led the AL in hits (189), runs (112), total bases (360), and slugging average (.622). He missed a unanimous vote for the MVP award because one sportswriter thought that Cesar Tovar (.267, 6 HR, 47 RBI) of the Twins was more valuable.

Yastrzemski's .301 batting average in 1968, "The Year of the Pitcher," is the lowest ever to lead a league, but some sabermetric analysts consider it the equivalent of Bill Terry's .401 in 1930 if the contexts are considered. Yastrzemski constantly tinkered with his batting stance, but remained consistent. Outside of the brilliance of 1967 and his three batting crowns, it was his consistency as much as anything that earned him Hall of Fame honors, but he was also a clutch hitter. Besides his 1967 feats, he hit .455 in the 1975 LCS and .310 in that year's World Series, and he hit a home run off the nearly-unbeatable Ron Guidry in the 1978 playoff game. He went 4-for-4 with two walks in the 1970 All-Star Game.

In addition, Yastrzemski was a great fielder with a strong arm who made himself expert in playing the tricky caroms off the Green Monster, Fenway Park's left field wall. In the 1975 LCS, he returned to left field after playing first base for three-quarters of the season and shone defensively. In 12 years as a left fielder, Yastrzemski won seven Gold Gloves and led in assists seven times. On July 21, 1982 he played centerfield and went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Nearing 43 years, he may have been the oldest major leaguer to play center. (CG)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » September 30, 1945: George Stirnweiss of the Yankees gets 3 hits on the final day to raise his average to .309. The White Sox games are washed out, depriving the veteran Tony Cuccinello of a shot at the title. The only other .300 hitter playing full time is Johnny Dickshot. Neither Cuccinello or Dickshot ever play another game in the ML. Only Elmer Flick in 1905 and Carl Yastrzemski in 1968 ever lead the AL with a lower average than Stirnweiss, but the latter also leads the AL with 195 hits, 107 runs, 22 triples, 301 SB, 33 TB, and a .476 SA. » September 15, 1959: Carl Yastrzemski plays for Minneapolis (AA), but the game is protested by Omaha because Yaz is not eligible to play until OF Lee Howell leaves for military duty on the 18th. » April 11, 1961: At Fenway, Kansas City's Ray Herbert surrenders Carl Yastrzemski's first ML hit, but beats Bill Monbouquette, 5–2. » May 31, 1961: Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris again homer as New York edges Boston, 7–6. Mantle's is #14, two ahead of Roger. In the 8th inning, Carroll Hardy pinch hits for rookie Carl Yastrzemski: last year he pinch hit for Ted Williams, making him the only player to go in for both future Hall of Famers. » August 21, 1961: In their first appearance in Boston since moving to Milwaukee, the Braves defeat the Red Sox, 4–1. Spahn pitches the first inning, striking out rookies Chuck Schilling and Carl Yastrzemski. The exhibition game is for the benefit of the Jimmy Fund. » May 4, 1962: The Red Sox stage a 12-run uprising in the 5th inning to defeat the White Sox, 13–6. Ed Bressoud and Carl Yastrzemski have two hits in the frame as does pinch hitter Russ Nixon. » April 14, 1965: At Washington, Carl Yastrzemski hits for the cycle , but the Senators still beat the Red Sox, 6–4. » May 10, 1965: At Fenway Park, the 9th place Yankees lose again, 3–2, when Carl Yastrzemski outhits a hobbling Mickey Mantle. Yaz hits a pair of homers and sacrifice fly, while Mantle is 3-for-4 with a homer. After Mantle doubles with two outs in the 9th, starter Jim Lonborg is lifted and Dick Radatz gets the final out. It is Lonborg's first major league win. Before the game the Yankees trade INF Pedro Gonzalez to Cleveland in exchange for 1B Ray Barker. Barker will help fill in for the injured Maris. » May 14, 1965: At Fenway, the Tigers score four runs in the 10th inning off reliever Dick Radatz to win 12–8. Terry Fox is the winner. For the 2nd game in a row, Willie Horton clouts two home runs and drives in five runs for Detroit. For Boston, Carl Yastrzemski hits for the cycle, and adds a 2nd homer. » September 25, 1965: Another Kansas City publicity stunt makes the great Satchel Paige baseball's oldest performer. At 59, Paige hurls the first three innings, garners one strikeout, and allows just one hit, to Carl Yastrzemski in his first ML appearance since 1953. The Red Sox jump on reliever Don Mossi for a 5–2 win. » April 14, 1967: At Yankee Stadium, Red Sox rookie Bill Rohr debuts and startles everyone by taking a no-hitter into the 9th inning. But Elston Howard lines a 3-2 pitch for a single to right-center with two outs. Carl Yastrzemski had kept the no-hitter alive with a spectacular grab of a Tom Tresh drive to deep LF to open the 9th. The Red Sox win 3–0, beating Whitey Ford, who allows a lead off homer to Reggie Smith and a two-run homer to Joe Foy. » April 16, 1967: At Yankee Stadium, The Red Sox and Yankees struggle for 18 innings before New York wins it, 7–6, in a game that lasts five hours and 50 minutes. Carl Yastrzemski and Tony Conigliaro each have five hits for the Sox, but it is Joe Pepitone's two-out single that beats Lee Stange. Al Downing is the winner. » May 17, 1967: The Orioles become the 8th club in American League history with four or more home runs in one inning when Andy Etchebarren, Sam Bowens, Boog Powell, and Dave Johnson connect in a 9-run 7th. Also homering for Baltimore is Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson and Paul Blair, the only time seven teammates have each homered. Those home runs make the difference in a 12–8 Baltimore win over the Red Sox. Boston's Carl Yastrzemski hits two homers, one coming in the bottom of the 7th; the total of five in one inning equals the ML record. Rounding out the round trippers is Don Demeter for Boston. » June 8, 1967: Gary Bell wins his Red Sox debut, 7–3 to give Boston a doubleheader split with the White Sox. Carl Yastrzemski had six hits for the day. Yaz, of whom Chicago manager Eddie Stanky said two days earlier, "he made be an All-Star, I suppose, but only from the neck down," hit his 12th home run. As he rounded the bases, Yaz tipped his cap to Stanky. » June 9, 1967: At Fenway, Carl Yastrzemski earns standing ovations as he makes two great catches and poles two home runs in the Red Sox 8–7 win over the Senators. » September 18, 1967: Boston rallies to beat the 1st place Tigers in Detroit. A Carl Yastrzemski home run, his 40th, ties the game 5–5 in 9th inning and a solo home run by Dalton Jones wins it in the 10th. Hours later, Detroit will receive another blow when Denny McLain leaps off a couch and sprains his left ankle. He will not pitch until the last game of the year. » September 30, 1967: Boston beats the Twins 6–4 to tie Minnesota for first place. Carl Yastrzemski's 3-run home run gives him the American League-lead with 44th, but Harmon Killebrew answers with his 44th for the losers. Meanwhile, Detroit, which had games rained out on the 28th and 29th, plays two with the Angels. Mickey Lolich wins the opener, 5–0, his 3rd straight shutout, and Detroit takes a seemingly safe 6–2 lead into the 8th inning of the nitecap. The Angels then bat around, scoring six runs, to hand Detroit a devastating 8–6 loss. Detroit now trails Minnesota and Boston by a half-game. » October 1, 1967: Boston clinches the American League pennant with a 5–3 win over Minnesota, Jim Lonborg besting Dean Chance. Carl Yastrzemski goes 4-for-4 and has 10 hits in his final 13 at bats to grab the Triple Crown (.326, 44, 121). Detroit, which could tie for the lead with a sweep, beats California in the opener 6–4. They then drop the 2nd game 8–5 despite sending eight Tiger pitchers to the mound. The four teams combined for 6–12 record over the final week, while Boston won the pennant with .568 winning percentage, the lowest in league history. » October 5, 1967: Jim Lonborg pitches the 4th one-hitter in World Series history and Yaz (Carl Yastrzemski) hits two home runs in Boston's 5–0 win to even the Series. » November 15, 1967: Boston's Carl Yastrzemski is the overwhelming selection as the American League's MVP. The Triple-crown winner misses unanimity by one vote, which goes to Cesar Tovar (.267, six home run, 47 RBI). » April 17, 1968: At Boston, Carl Yastrzemski hits his 4th homer and Dick Ellsworth stops the White Sox, 2–0. After Yaz's homer, Chicago pitchers give him three straight intentional walks. » September 29, 1968: Carl Yastrzemski is 0-for-5 but maintains a .3005 BA, to win his 2nd straight batting crown with the lowest championship average ever. Yaz is the AL's only .300 hitter: Oakland's Danny Cater is 2nd with .290. The Red Sox lose to the Yankees, 4–3. Ray Culp's string of 39 scoreless innings is snapped by the Yankees with a score in the 1st » April 26, 1969: The Red Sox beat the Tigers, 7–4, with Carl Yastrzemski hitting a pair of homers—one a grand slam. Yaz's blows give the Sox a record for most homers in 10 straight games with 26. » July 11, 1969: The Red Sox swat the Orioles twice, winning 7–4 and 123. Reggie Smith is 7-for-9 and stretches his hit streak to 19 games. Carl Yastrzemski has a homer in each game as the Red Sox total 22 hits in the nitecap, including five by Mike Andrews. » August 1, 1969: Dick Williams pulls Carl Yastrzemski from the Boston lineup after one at bat and fines him $500 for "dogging it." Jim Lonborg allows just three hits over eight innings, but the A's rally in the 9th for three runs and beat the Sox, 4–3. » May 16, 1970: At Fenway Park, Carl Yastrzemski belts a Dean Chance pitch out of the park to the right of the flagpole. Only Jimmie Foxx (twice) and Bill Skowron have done it. Ray Culp is the 6–2 winner over Cleveland. » October 1, 1970: The Angels Alex Johnson grounds out and then hits two singles to edge Boston's Carl Yastrzemski for the American League batting title, .3290 to .3286. Johnson leaves the game after his 2nd hit as the Angels go 13 innings to top the White Sox, 5–4. Yastrzemski goes 12-for-20 over his last six games. The Red Sox ended their season September 30th. » February 17, 1971: Boston's Carl Yastrzemski signs what is believed to be the richest player contract in baseball history: three years for a total of $500,000. » June 21, 1972: Rico Petrocelli and Carl Yastrzemski lead the Red Sox to 11-inning, 10–9 win over Texas. Yaz collects five hits and score four times, while Rico drives in six runs, four with a grand slam. Frank Howard is 4-for-4 for Texas. Luis Tiant wins with an inning of shutout relief. » July 9, 1972: The Angels' Nolan Ryan strikes out 16 batters, including an American League-record eight in a row and three on nine pitches in the 2nd inning, as he stops the Red Sox on one hit. Carl Yastrzemski's one-out single in the 1st is only hit: Ryan then racks up his eight K's and retires the last 26 consecutive batters. Sonny Siebert loses the 3–0 battle. For Ryan, he is the 3rd pitcher to twice fan the side on nine pitches. » October 2, 1972: The Red Sox fall a half game behind Detroit, losing 4–1 to Mickey Lolich before 51,518 at Tiger Stadium. Trailing 1–0 in the 3rd, Carl Yastrzemski hits a triple with two on, but Luis Aparicio stumbles twice and scrambles back to 3B, where Yaz is tagged out. » April 8, 1975: In a club house meeting, Boston captain Carl Yastrzemski criticizes his teammates for their poor attitude in spring training when they went 10–20. In the game, the Sox bomb Jim Slaton for five runs in three innings and defeat Milwaukee, 5–2. Hank Aaron is hitless in his AL debut, while teammate Robin Yount homers. Tony Conigliaro is the Sox DH and is 1-for-4 in his Boston return. » June 6, 1975: Luis Tiant wins his 100th game as a Red Sox, defeating Kansas City, 1–0. Boston's other 100+ winners include Cy Young (193), Mel Parnell (123), Joe Wood (112), Joe Dobson (106), and Lefty Grove (105) (Roger Clemens will join the group with 192). Carl Yastrzemski walks in the game, his 1,452nd, tying him for 10th on the all time list with Jimmie Foxx. » June 9, 1975: In a 12–4 loss to Texas at Fenway, Carl Yastrzemski hits his 500th double. Jackie Brown is the wining pitcher. » July 18, 1975: In a 9–3 win over the Kansas City Royals, Boston's Jim Rice clouts a tremendous homer over the CF wall at Fenway, to the right of the flag pole, just the 6th player to accomplish this feat. Owner Tom Yawkey calls it the longest shot he's ever seen at Fenway. The others: Detroit's Hank Greenberg, May 22, 1937; Boston's Jimmie Foxx, August 12, 1937; Yankees Bill Skowron, April 20, 1957; Boston's Carl Yastrzemski, May 16, 1970; Brewers Bob Mitchell, September 29, 1973. » October 5, 1975: Carl Yastrzemski's 2-run home run is the big blow as the Red Sox win the 2nd LCS game 6–3. » May 19, 1976: At Detroit, Carl Yastrzemski slugs three homers and goes 4-for-4 as Boston wins, 9–2. Yesterday, Yaz passed Ted Williams as having played the most games for Boston. » May 20, 1976: At New York, Carl Yastrzemski clubs two homers, giving him five in two games, to tie a ML mark. Boston wins, 8–2. Boston P Bill Lee injures his arm in a fight with Yankee players, ending up on the bottom of a pile of players. Lee never really recovers from the injury. The fight starts when Lou Piniella, running on Dwight Evans, is gunned down at the plate and barrels into Fisk. Both come up swinging and both benches clear. Lee initially blames Graig Nettles for his injury but, after viewing tapes, apologizes to the Yankee 3B. Lee then blames Billy Martin for espousing a fighting style that brought the brawl on. » June 18, 1977: New York's Reggie Jackson loafs after a Jim Rice bloop double during a 10–4 loss to Boston and is taken out by manager Billy Martin right after the manager removes starter Mike Torrez. Jackson and Martin nearly come to blows in the dugout as national television cameras watch. Boston connects for five homers in the game, two each by Carl Yastrzemski and Bernie Carbo. Fenway Park sees the largest Saturday afternoon crowd (34,603) in 20 years. » July 14, 1977: The Red Sox beat Cleveland 7–4. Carl Yastrzemski's 5th inning single gives him a career total of 2,655 hits, moving him ahead of Williams as Boston's all-time hit leader. » April 7, 1978: At Comiskey Park, 50,754 watch as the White Sox edge the Red Sox, 6–5, on Wayne Nordhagen's bloop double in the last of the 9th. Dick Drago, in relief of Mike Torrez, takes the loss, after allowing a game tying homer to Ron Blomberg and single to Chet Lemon. Larrin LeGrow is the winner. Carl Yastrzemski has two singles, the 11th straight opener he has had a hit. » May 8, 1978: After a Bernie Carbo walk and a ground out the Royals intentionally walk Jim Rice to pitch to Carl Yastrzemski, who clouts a 3-run homer. The Red Sox, down 5–4, beat the Royals, 8–4. Mike Stanley is the winner over Dennis Leonard. » June 17, 1978: The Red Sox win their 9th straight, handing the Mariners their 10th straight loss, 5–4. The Sox score two in the 9th, including a game winning single by Carl Yastrzemski. Dwight Evans had earlier parked his 15th homer. Bill Lee, wearing a "friendship first, competition second" t-shirt returns to the Sox and is fined a day's pay. » June 24, 1978: The Red Sox lose the first of two games with Minnesota, 5–4, to stretch their losing streak to five games. Rod Carew's 2-run double in the 6th inning, off Dick Drago, gives the Twins the 5–3 lead. In the nitecap, the Red Sox score four runs in the 6th inning to win, 4–2, overcoming the loss of starter Mike Torrez, who was tossed in the 1st inning for protesting a balk call. Carl Yastrzemski drives home a run, collecting his 1500th career RBI, and Carlton Fisk hits his 15th homer of the year. » July 3, 1978: At Fenway, Carl Yastrzemski strokes a run-scoring double in the 3rd, his 2,800th career hit, as the Sox pummel the Yankees, 9–5. Yaz adds two singles in Boston's 12-hit attack, as Dennis Eckersley (9-2) tops Ed Figueroa. The win moves Boston ahead of 2nd place Milwaukee by seven 1/2 games with New York now trailing by eight games. » July 6, 1978: Carl Yastrzemski's 3-run homer in the first gives Boston a lead at Comiskey Park, but the White Sox eventually tie at 6–6. In the 10th inning, former Bosox Jim Willoughby serves up a home run to Fred Lynn, his 13th, and Boston wins, 7–6. Bill Campbell picks up the victory. » September 17, 1978: Boston finally wins against the Yankees, taking a 7–3 victory in Yankee Stadium as Dennis Eckersley and Andy Hassler combine to stop the Yankees on four hits. The Yanks score two unearned runs in 8th on Butch Hobson's 2nd error of the game (and his 42nd of the year). Carl Yastrzemski, playing CF in place of the inured Fred Lynn, collects his 14th homer of the year in the 9th inning. » June 16, 1979: At Chicago, the Red Sox beat the White Sox 11–5 behind Rick Burleson's inside-the-park homer and Carl Yastrzemski's 1,000th extra base hit. Yaz is the 15th player to reach that plateau. » July 9, 1979: The fans elect three Red Sox to start in the American League outfield for the All-Star Game: Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice and Fred Lynn. » July 24, 1979: In Boston's 7–3 win over Oakland, Carl Yastrzemski hits his 400th career home run, off Mike Morgan, in the 7th at Fenway. » September 12, 1979: Boston's Carl Yastrzemski singles off New York's Jim Beattie for his 3,000th career hit. The Sox win 9–2 and Yaz becomes the first American League player to collect both 3,000 hits and 400 home runs. » April 10, 1980: In front of a crowd of 53,313, Sixto Lezcano hits two homers — a 2-run shot in the 4th off Dennis Eckersley — and a grand slam with two outs in the 9th inning, to give Milwaukee a 9–5 win over Boston and Dick Drago. Lezcano also opened the 1978 season with a grand slam, the only player to do it twice in Openers. The game features seven homers, including Carl Yastrzemski and Butch Hobson going deep in the 9th off Jim Slaton. » May 25, 1981: Carl Yastrzemski plays in his 3,000th ML game, scoring the winning run in Boston's 8–7 triumph over Cleveland. Yaz joins Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, and Hank Aaron as the only major leaguers to appear in 3,000 games. » June 20, 1982: Phillies Pete Rose plays in his 3,000th ML game (a 3–1 loss to the Pirates), joining Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, Hank Aaron, and Carl Yastrzemski as the only players to reach that plateau. » October 2, 1983: In his final ML game, Carl Yastrzemski plays left field and goes 1-for-3 as the Red Sox beat Cleveland 3–1 at Fenway Park. » June 29, 1984: Pete Rose plays in his 3,309th ML game, surpassing Carl Yastrzemski as the all-time leader. Rose goes 0-for-5, but Montreal beats Cincinnati 7–3. » June 13, 1988: In a 12–6 loss to the Yankees, Jim Rice hits his 200th Fenway home run, joining Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski as the only three to do it. » January 9, 1989: Johnny Bench and Carl Yastrzemski are elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA in their first year of eligibility. Bench was named on 96.4 percent of the ballots, the 3rd-highest figure in history behind Ty Cobb and Hank Aaron. » July 22, 1989: Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski, Red Schoendienst, and ump Al Barlick are inducted into the Hall of Fame at ceremonies in Cooperstown, New York. » August 6, 1989: It is Carl Yastrzemski day at Fenway and the Sox retire his uniform #8. Roger Clemens then retires just one batter before leaving, giving up three earned runs. But Boston scores four in the 3rd and two in the 8th to beat Cleveland, 6–4. » May 13, 1997: Eddie Murray gets two hits in Anaheim's 8-7 win over the White Sox. The game is the 3,000th of Murray's career, making him only the 6th player in history to reach that mark. Pete Rose, Carl Yastrzemski, Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, and Stan Musial are the others. » September 9, 1999: In Baltimore's 6–5 win over the Twns, Albert Belle drives in his 100th run, the 9th season in a row he's had 100+ RBIs. On the minus side, Cal Ripken, Jr. grounds into his 324th double play to top Carl Yastrzemski for the all-time lead.