Outfielder, Boston
Red Sox
Age: 28 (Aug. 22)
7th season
with Red Sox
Bats – Left,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’11” Weight: 175
Prior to 1967:
A native of
Long Island in New York state where his family had a potato farm, Yastrzemski was
the son of a semipro baseball-playing father who instilled a passion for
baseball in in him as a youth. The two played alongside each other for a local
sandlot team while the younger Yastrzemski was in high school, drawing the
interest of major league scouts. Not receiving a bonus offer out of high
school, Yastrzemski headed off to college at Notre Dame where he played his
freshman year and then signed with the Red Sox for a $108,000 bonus in November
of 1958. Initially assigned to the Raleigh Capitals of the Class B Carolina
League in 1959, he played second base and batted .377 with 15 home runs and 100
RBIs. Promoted to Minneapolis of the Class AAA American Association for their
playoff appearance, he hit well and returned to Minneapolis in 1960 to learn to
play left field, with the expectation that Boston’s star left fielder, Ted
Williams, would retire following the ’60 season. Yastrzemski hit .339 with 36
doubles, 8 triples, 7 home runs, and 69 RBIs and, with Williams indeed having
departed, he made the Red Sox as the starting left fielder in 1961. He
struggled initially and Williams was called back to give the rookie some
additional coaching. Yastrzemski went on to hit a respectable .266 with 31
doubles, 6 triples, 11 home runs, and 80 RBIs. He improved in 1962 to .296 with
43 doubles, 19 home runs, and 94 RBIs. In 1963, “Yaz” won the AL batting title
with a .321 mark and further topped the circuit in hits (183), doubles (40),
walks drawn (95), and on-base percentage (.418). Along the way, he was an
All-Star for the first time. Yastrzemski’s batting average dropped to a
still-solid .289 in 1964 along with 15 home runs and 67 RBIs, and he was
overshadowed by rookie Tony Conigliaro, who primarily played in left field
while “Yaz” moved to center field. Back in left field in 1965, with Conigliaro
shifted to right field, Yastrzemski batted .312 and led the league in doubles
(45), OBP (.395), and slugging (.536), while also producing 20 home runs and 72
RBIs. In 1966, the Red Sox finished ninth and Yastrzemski hit .278 with a
league-leading 39 doubles along with 16 home runs and 80 RBIs. By 1967, he was
recognized as a good line-drive hitter with an excellent natural swing that
produced some power. His defense had been improving in the outfield and he was
a key player with a chronically underproducing team.
1967 Season Summary
Appeared in 161
games
LF – 161, CF –
1, PH – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 680 [5]
At Bats – 579 [8]
Runs – 112 [1]
Hits – 189 [1]
Doubles – 31 [3]
Triples – 4
Home Runs – 44
[1, tied with Harmon Killebrew]
RBI – 121 [1]
Bases on Balls
– 91 [4]
Int. BB – 11
[6, tied with Curt Blefary, Ron Hansen & Reggie Smith]
Strikeouts – 69
Stolen Bases – 10
[13, tied with six others]
Caught Stealing
– 8 [8, tied with four others]
Average - .326
[1]
OBP - .418 [1]
Slugging Pct. -
.622 [1]
Total Bases – 360
[1]
GDP – 5
Hit by Pitches
– 4
Sac Hits – 1
Sac Flies – 5 [11, tied with seven others]
League-leading runs
scored were +7 ahead of runner-up Harmon Killebrew
League-leading hits
were +16 ahead of runner-up Cesar Tovar
League-leading
RBIs were +8 ahead of runner-up Harmon Killebrew
League-leading
batting average was +.015 ahead of runner-up Frank Robinson
League-leading
OBP was +.007 ahead of runner-up Al Kaline
League-leading slugging
pct was +.046 ahead of runner-up Frank Robinson
League-leading
total bases were +55 ahead of runner-up Harmon Killebrew
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 19, RBI - 56, AVG - .324, SLG - .602, OBP – .420
---
Most hits, game
– 5 (in 8 AB) at NY Yankees 4/16 – 18 innings
Longest hitting
streak – 13 games
HR at home – 27
HR on road – 17
Most home runs,
game – 2 on five occasions
Multi-HR games
– 5
Most RBIs, game
– 4 vs. Baltimore 5/17, at Washington 9/5, vs. Minnesota 9/30
Pinch-hitting –
1 for 2 (.500) with 1 2B & 1 RBI
Fielding
Chances – 317
Put Outs – 297
Assists – 13
Errors – 7
DP – 1
Pct. - .978
Postseason
Batting: 7 G (World Series vs. St. Louis)
PA – 30, AB –
25, R – 4, H – 10, 2B – 2,3B – 0, HR – 3, RBI – 5, BB – 4, IBB – 1, SO – 1, SB
– 0, CS – 0, AVG - .400, OBP - .500, SLG -.840, TB – 21, GDP – 1, HBP – 1, SH –
0, SF – 0
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
MLB Player of
the Year: Sporting News
Gold Glove
All-Star
(Started for AL in LF)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Carl
Yastrzemski, Bos.: 275 pts. – 19 of 20 first place votes, 98% share
Harmon
Killebrew, Min.: 161 pts. – 58% share
Bill Freehan,
Det.: 137 pts. – 49% share
Joe Horlen,
ChiWS.: 91 pts. – 33% share
Al Kaline, Det.:
88 pts. – 31% share
(1 first place
vote for Cesar Tovar, Min., who ranked seventh)
---
Red Sox went
92-70 to win the AL pennant by 1 game over the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota
Twins, their first pennant since 1946, while leading the league in runs scored
(722), hits (1394), doubles (216, tied with Minnesota), home runs (158), RBIs
(666), batting (.255), slugging (.395) & total bases (2162). The upstart
Red Sox, under new manager Dick Williams, became involved in a dramatic
four-team pennant race with the Twins, Tigers and White Sox. All four clubs
were in first on Sept. 6 and Boston stayed at or near the top the rest of the
way. By the season’s final weekend, the Twins were in first by one game and
heading into Fenway Park for a two-game series. The Red Sox, who were one
behind, swept both games, while the Tigers lost to California, to take the flag
and achieve “the Impossible Dream”. In the final 12 games of the season,
Yastrzemski went 10-for-13, including 7-for-8 with 6 RBIs in the last two games
against the Twins, which propelled him to the AL Triple Crown. Lost World
Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 3, despite “Yaz” hitting .400
with 5 RBIs, which could not overcome St. Louis ace RHP Bob Gibson’s three
complete game wins.
Aftermath of ‘67:
In 1968, a
season dominated by pitching, Yastrzemski won another batting title by hitting
.301 (his closest competitor batted .290) and paced the circuit with a .426 OBP
and 119 walks drawn as well. His home run total dropped to 23, which was more
in line with his previous production, and he compiled 74 RBIs. The
injury-plagued Red Sox dropped to fourth place. 1969 was a year of dissension
in Boston and Yastrzemski became a part of it when he was fined $500 by manager
Dick Williams for loafing during a game in Oakland. For the year, his average
dropped to .255 but he still accounted for 40 home runs and 111 RBIs. “Yaz” hit
another 40 home runs in 1970 and his batting average rebounded to .329, which
narrowly missed being the AL’s best. He did lead the league in runs scored
(125), OBP (.452), slugging (.592), and total bases (335). His RBIs totaled 102
and he stole 23 bases. Prior to the 1971 season Yastrzemski signed a
three-year, $500,000 contract. He suffered through a mediocre year in ’71 in
which he batted .254 with 15 home runs and 70 RBIs. He also became a target of
criticism from some of his teammates which contributed to an offseason purge.
The 1972 season started late due to a strike by the players, which led to teams
playing an unequal number of games, which narrowly cost Boston the AL East
title. Yastrzemski missed a month due to a knee injury, and although he hit
well down the stretch in September, he finished at .264 with 12 home runs and
68 RBIs. He also saw considerable action at first base, where he primarily
played in 1973. “Yaz” made up for a slow start in ’73 with another strong
performance down the stretch as the Red Sox chased the Orioles and he ended up
hitting .296 with 19 home runs and 95 RBIs. Boston started well in 1974 and
collapsed down the stretch. Yastrzemski batted .301 and led the league with 93
runs scored in a year of disappointment in which he hit 15 home runs with 79
RBIs while splitting time between first base and left field. Almost exclusively
a first baseman in 1975, he had a mediocre season at bat as he hit .269 with 14
home runs and 60 RBIs and was overshadowed by rookie sensation Fred Lynn. The
Red Sox did not fall short in their battle for the AL East title and “Yaz” was
outstanding, both offensively and defensively, as the club defeated Oakland for
the AL pennant. He further played well in the seven-game World Series loss to
Cincinnati. The aging star hit 21 home runs with 102 RBIs in 1976, while
batting .267, and splitting time between first base and left field, for the
third place Red Sox. Back in left field in 1977, Yastrzemski hit a solid .296
with 28 home runs and 102 RBIs. The Red Sox started fast in 1978, ultimately
losing out to the Yankees in a playoff and, down the stretch, “Yaz” was
hindered by back and wrist injuries on his way to batting .277 with 17 home
runs and 81 RBIs. Playing on two bad feet in 1979, he hit .270 with 21 home
runs and 87 RBIs and joined the 3000-hit club. Now into his forties,
Yastrzemski played on until 1983, primarily appearing as a Designated Hitter in
his last seasons. For his major league career, spent entirely with the Red Sox,
“Yaz” batted .285 with 3419 hits that included 646 doubles, 59 triples, and 452
home runs. He scored 1816 runs and compiled 1844 RBIs while drawing 1845 walks
and ending up with a .379 OBP and .462 slugging percentage. Appearing in 17
postseason games he hit .369 with 4 home runs and 11 RBIs. In addition to three
batting titles, Yastrzemski received seven Gold Gloves for his defensive play
in left field. An 18-time All-Star, he placed in the top ten in league MVP
voting five times. The Red Sox retired his #8, and he was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. His grandson, Mike Yastrzemski is currently an
outfielder for the San Francisco Giants.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
