Carl Yastrzemski

Full Name: Carl Michael Yastrzemski	Primary Position: OF,LF,1B
Height/Weight: 5' 11"/175	First Game: April 11, 1961
Birthdate: August 22, 1939	Final Game: October 2, 1983
Birthplace: Southampton, New York	MLB Experience: 23 years
Bat/Throw: Left/Right

Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989

Biography

Carl Michael Yastrzemski was born on August 22, 1939 in Southampton, NY. He had an Hall of Fame 23-year career, playing only for the Boston Red Sox. Primarily a left fielder, he played some first base and DH as he got older.

One of only four Red Sox to have their number retired, Yastrzemski is among the greatest hitters ever to wear a Red Sox uniform. Yastrzemski redefined what power hitting was with his huge, corkscrew swing that would send balls flying down by Pesky's pole from 1961 until 1983. Yastrzemski, also known as "Captain Carl," has been part of some of the greatest teams in Red Sox history, and his presence had a huge impact on those teams during those years.

Yastrzemski grew up in Bridgehampton, Long Island, a small farming community. While attending Bridehampton High School, Yastrzemski set records for baseball, basketball, and football. He set the all time individual conference record for points scored in basketball with 628. He also hit .512 career at Bridgehampton High. These are just a few of the many he set in all three sports.

Yastrzemski attended Notre Dame with a full scholarship to play baseball and basketball there. Due to his exceptional play and potential on the ball field, Yastrzemski signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox in his first year at Notre Dame. Immediately after this, he went to Raleigh, North Carolina and played for the minor league Raleigh Capitals there. In 1959, Yastrzemski led the minors by a margin 64 points with a .377 batting average. He also won the MVP and Rookie of the Year that year. In 1960, he almost won his second batting title playing for the Triple A Minneapolis Millers.

In 1961, Yastrzemski took over for the legendary Ted Williams as the keeper of the Green Monster in Fenway. Because he replaced such a legend, the fans were very critical and skeptical of his performance. They were eager to boo and slow to applaud his efforts. His first two years were viewed as solid but unspectacular. However, he emerged as a rising star in 1963, winning the American League batting championship with a batting average of .321, and also leading the league in doubles and walks.

During the 1967 "Impossible Dream" year, Yastrzemski enjoyed his best season, winning the American League Triple Crown with a .326 batting average, 44 home runs (tied with Harmon Killebrew) and 121 RBI. He is the last hitter to have won the Triple Crown and won the Most Valuable Player almost unanimously—one voter chose César Tovar of the Twins. Also, the Yaz grounded into only 5 double plays that entire year. His great defense and explosive offense helped to propel Boston to their first World Series since 1946. However, once again, the Red Sox fell to the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3. The Red Sox offense couldn't overcome the dynamite of Bob Gibson's arm.

In 1968 Yastrzemski again won the batting championship. Because of the competitive advantages pitchers enjoyed between 1963 and 1968 (prior to the lowering of the pitcher's mound), Yastrzemski's .301 mark in "The Year of the Pitcher" is the lowest average of any batting champion in major league history. He had many more strong seasons, consistently finishing in the top ten in the league in many statistical categories.

In 1969, he hit the first of 2 straight 40 home run seasons as he led the Red Sox to third-place finishes that year and the next. Yaz got four hits and won the All-Star Game MVP in 1970, although the American League lost. His .329 batting average that season was his career high. He hit but 61 homers over the next four years as the Red Sox finished second twice and third twice.

Again in 1975 Yastrzemski helped the Red Sox to make it to the Series, this time against Pete Rose and the Cincinnati Reds. Although his numbers were not as outstanding during this season, Yastrzemski still managed to bat .269 and amassed 14 home runs and 60 RBIs.

In 1978, Yaz he also made the final out of the 1978 AL East division one-game playoff with a foul pop to third base. This game featured Bucky Dent's famous shocking homer (although Reggie Jackson's home run was the eventual winning run). It should be pointed out that Yaz was almost the hero of the game: he hit a homer off left handed pitcher Ron Guidry who was having a career year (25 wins, 3 loses and a 1.74 ERA). Veteran Yastrzemski began the scoring with a home run off Guidry in the second, the only homer the Cy Young Award winner allowed to a left-hander all season.

Yastrzemski retired in 1983 at the age of 44. No player has had a longer career with only one team, 23 seasons, a record which he shares with Brooks Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles. His final career statistics include 3,308 games played (second all-time), 452 home runs, 1,844 RBI, and a batting average of .285. He had 1,845 walks in his career, sixth all-time. Yaz was the first player to ever collect over 3,000 hits and 400 home runs solely in the American League, the feat has since been accomplished by Cal Ripken Jr.

Yaz was well-known for his batting stance, holding his bat exceptionally high, giving his swing a large, dramatic arc, and more power at the plate. However, in his later years, he adjusted his stance and held the bat lower.

An eighteen-time All-Star, Yastrzemski was an outstanding defensive player. He mastered the art of playing the tricky bounces that result from line drives hitting Fenway's Green Monster, and won seven Gold Glove Awards in his career.

A record album of the Red Sox's 1967 season, aptly titled "The Impossible Dream", featured a song of praise for "The man they call Yaz", which included the line "Although 'Yastrzemski' is a lengthy name / It fits quite nicely in our Hall of Fame". As one of the top players of his era, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, with the support of 94% of voters.

Yaz's 23 year career was been one of the finest in Red Sox history. With a lifetime batting average of .285, 1844 RBIs, 452 HR, and 3419 hits, he ranks among the top hitters of all time. He retired after 23 years with the Red Sox, and on October 1, 1983, he took his final lap around Fenway. He was honored with an induction into the Hall of Fame in 1989 and was voted in on the first ballot. Yastrzemski's #8 -- the umber 8 from start to finish—was retired on August 6, 1989 and was only the fourth ever retired from the Sox at the time. Carlton Fisk's #27 was added on September 4, 2000.

As of 2006, is currently a roving instructor with the Red Sox.

Statistics

Batting Stats

Year	Team		G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	2B	3B	BB	SO	HBP	SH	SB	IBB	GDP
1961	BOS	A	148	583	71	155	11	80	.266	.324	.396	31	6	50	96	3	2	6	3	19
1962	BOS	A	160	646	99	191	19	94	.296	.363	.469	43	6	66	82	3	2	7	7	27
1963	BOS	A	151	570	91	183	14	68	.321	.418	.475	40	3	95	72	1	1	8	6	12
1964	BOS	A	151	567	77	164	15	67	.289	.374	.451	29	9	75	90	2	1	6	6	30
1965	BOS	A	133	494	78	154	20	72	.312	.395	.536	45	3	70	58	1	2	7	8	16
1966	BOS	A	160	594	81	165	16	80	.278	.368	.431	39	2	84	60	1	0	8	10	17
1967	BOS	A	161	579	112	189	44	121	.326	.418	.622	31	4	91	69	4	1	10	11	5
1968	BOS	A	157	539	90	162	23	74	.301	.426	.495	32	2	119	90	2	0	13	13	12
1969	BOS	A	162	603	96	154	40	111	.255	.362	.507	28	2	101	91	1	0	15	9	14
1970	BOS	A	161	566	125	186	40	102	.329	.452	.592	29	0	128	66	1	0	23	12	12
1971	BOS	A	148	508	75	129	15	70	.254	.381	.392	21	2	106	60	1	0	8	12	14
1972	BOS	A	125	455	70	120	12	68	.264	.357	.391	18	2	67	44	4	0	5	3	13
1973	BOS	A	152	540	82	160	19	95	.296	.407	.463	25	4	105	58	0	1	9	13	19
1974	BOS	A	148	515	93	155	15	79	.301	.414	.445	25	2	104	48	3	0	12	16	12
1975	BOS	A	149	543	91	146	14	60	.269	.371	.405	30	1	87	67	2	0	8	12	14
1976	BOS	A	155	546	71	146	21	102	.267	.357	.432	23	2	80	67	1	1	5	6	12
1977	BOS	A	150	558	99	165	28	102	.296	.372	.505	27	3	73	40	1	0	11	6	10
1978	BOS	A	144	523	70	145	17	81	.277	.367	.423	21	2	76	44	3	1	4	8	9
1979	BOS	A	147	518	69	140	21	87	.270	.346	.450	28	1	62	46	2	0	3	8	12
1980	BOS	A	105	364	49	100	15	50	.275	.350	.462	21	1	44	38	0	1	0	5	9
1981	BOS	A	91	338	36	83	7	53	.246	.338	.355	14	1	49	28	0	0	0	4	10
1982	BOS	A	131	459	53	126	16	72	.275	.358	.431	22	1	59	50	2	0	0	1	12
1983	BOS	A	119	380	38	101	10	56	.266	.359	.408	24	0	54	29	2	0	0	11	13
Total			3308	11988	1816	3419	452	1844	.285	.379	.462	646	59	1845	1393	40	13	168	190	323

Fielding Stats

Year	Team		POS	G	GS	INN	PO	A	ERR	DP	TP	AVG
1961	BOS	A	OF	147	146	1269	248	12	10	1	0	.963
1961	BOS	A	LF	147	146	1269	245	11	9	1	0	.966
1962	BOS	A	LF	160	160	1427.2	327	16	11	3	0	.969
1962	BOS	A	OF	160	160	1427.2	329	15	11	3	0	.969
1963	BOS	A	CF	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1963	BOS	A	OF	151	151	1353.1	283	18	6	3	0	.980
1963	BOS	A	LF	151	151	1351.1	284	17	6	3	0	.980
1964	BOS	A	LF	16	16	136	28	1	1	0	0	.967
1964	BOS	A	OF	148	148	1264	372	19	11	3	0	.973
1964	BOS	A	3B	2	2	16	0	5	0	1	0	1.000
1964	BOS	A	CF	133	132	1128	337	14	10	3	0	.972
1965	BOS	A	RF	2	2	17	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1965	BOS	A	LF	123	119	1041	191	11	3	2	0	.985
1965	BOS	A	CF	9	9	71	25	0	0	0	0	1.000
1965	BOS	A	OF	130	130	1129	222	11	3	2	0	.987
1966	BOS	A	CF	1	1	9	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1966	BOS	A	OF	158	152	1374.2	310	15	5	2	0	.985
1966	BOS	A	LF	157	151	1365.2	307	15	5	2	0	.985
1967	BOS	A	CF	1	1	6	3	0	0	0	0	1.000
1967	BOS	A	OF	161	158	1361	297	13	7	1	0	.978
1967	BOS	A	LF	161	157	1355	289	13	7	1	0	.977
1968	BOS	A	1B	3	3	20	14	1	0	1	0	1.000
1968	BOS	A	OF	155	153	1329	301	12	3	3	0	.991
1968	BOS	A	CF	1	1	9	3	0	1	0	0	.750
1968	BOS	A	LF	154	152	1320	302	12	2	3	0	.994
1969	BOS	A	LF	140	138	1180.2	237	17	4	2	0	.984
1969	BOS	A	1B	22	21	179.2	181	21	2	29	0	.990
1969	BOS	A	OF	143	141	1211.2	246	17	4	2	0	.985
1969	BOS	A	CF	4	3	31	9	0	0	0	0	1.000
1970	BOS	A	1B	93	92	773.1	696	61	8	62	0	.990
1970	BOS	A	CF	3	2	23	6	0	2	0	0	.750
1970	BOS	A	OF	69	66	602	120	3	6	0	0	.953
1970	BOS	A	LF	67	64	579	115	4	4	0	0	.967
1971	BOS	A	OF	146	144	1257.1	281	16	2	4	0	.993
1971	BOS	A	LF	146	144	1257.1	281	17	2	4	0	.993
1972	BOS	A	OF	83	82	710.1	141	10	4	1	0	.974
1972	BOS	A	CF	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1972	BOS	A	LF	83	82	708.1	143	10	4	1	0	.975
1972	BOS	A	1B	42	42	371.1	357	33	4	34	0	.990
1973	BOS	A	OF	15	15	134	30	0	0	0	0	1.000
1973	BOS	A	1B	104	103	888.1	912	56	6	85	0	.994
1973	BOS	A	LF	15	15	134	35	0	0	0	0	1.000
1973	BOS	A	3B	33	33	280.1	37	63	12	2	0	.893
1974	BOS	A	DH	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1974	BOS	A	LF	63	62	537.1	99	2	4	1	0	.962
1974	BOS	A	OF	63	62	537.1	99	2	4	1	0	.962
1974	BOS	A	1B	84	82	709.2	707	44	2	67	0	.997
1975	BOS	A	OF	8	8	69	15	1	0	0	0	1.000
1975	BOS	A	1B	140	137	1189.2	1202	87	5	103	0	.996
1975	BOS	A	DH	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1975	BOS	A	LF	8	8	69	15	1	0	0	0	1.000
1976	BOS	A	LF	51	51	429.1	95	3	2	0	0	.980
1976	BOS	A	OF	51	51	429.1	93	3	2	0	0	.980
1976	BOS	A	1B	94	93	818	829	52	2	78	0	.998
1976	BOS	A	DH	10	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1977	BOS	A	OF	140	140	1194.2	287	16	0	1	0	1.000
1977	BOS	A	1B	6	4	50	57	6	0	4	0	1.000
1977	BOS	A	LF	138	138	1182.2	285	16	0	1	0	1.000
1977	BOS	A	RF	2	2	12	2	0	0	0	0	1.000
1977	BOS	A	DH	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1978	BOS	A	LF	64	63	552	122	7	2	2	0	.985
1978	BOS	A	CF	7	7	63	14	1	0	0	0	1.000
1978	BOS	A	1B	50	47	409	387	41	3	47	0	.993
1978	BOS	A	OF	71	70	615	136	8	2	2	0	.986
1978	BOS	A	DH	27	25	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1979	BOS	A	OF	36	36	301.2	63	1	2	0	0	.970
1979	BOS	A	DH	56	55	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1979	BOS	A	LF	34	34	289.2	56	1	2	0	0	.966
1979	BOS	A	1B	51	51	440.1	466	55	2	42	1	.996
1979	BOS	A	CF	2	2	12	8	0	0	0	0	1.000
1980	BOS	A	DH	50	49	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1980	BOS	A	1B	15	14	130.1	160	10	4	19	0	.977
1980	BOS	A	OF	39	33	302	65	3	0	1	0	1.000
1980	BOS	A	RF	4	1	15	3	0	0	0	0	1.000
1980	BOS	A	LF	34	32	284	61	3	0	1	0	1.000
1980	BOS	A	CF	1	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	1.000
1981	BOS	A	DH	49	49	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1981	BOS	A	1B	38	36	327.1	353	34	3	26	0	.992
1982	BOS	A	DH	103	102	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1982	BOS	A	CF	2	2	17	3	0	0	0	0	1.000
1982	BOS	A	1B	13	12	104	116	10	0	12	0	1.000
1982	BOS	A	OF	2	2	17	3	0	0	0	0	1.000
1983	BOS	A	OF	1	1	7	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1983	BOS	A	DH	107	104	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1983	BOS	A	LF	1	1	7	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1983	BOS	A	1B	2	2	17	22	1	0	1	0	1.000
Total			3B	35	35	296.1	37	68	12	3	0	.897
Total			LF	1913	1884	16476	3517	177	68	27	0	.982
Total			CF	166	160	1376	409	15	13	3	0	.970
Total			OF	2077	2049	17896	3941	195	82	30	0	.981
Total			1B	757	739	6428	6459	512	41	610	1	.994
Total			DH	414	404	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Total			RF	8	5	44	5	0	0	0	0	1.000

Transactions

Signed as an amateur free agent by Boston Red Sox (November 29, 1958).

Carl Yastrzemski

Contents

Biography

Statistics

Batting Stats

Fielding Stats

Transactions

Trivia

See also

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