![]() ![]() He was 7-for-8 in the final two must-win games of the season. In the final 12 games, he was 23-for-44 with 14 runs scored and 16 RBI. That 1967 season was amazing overall, but Yaz turned it up a notch in the final two weeks as the Red Sox were gunning for the pennant. According to FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement, this was one of the 20 greatest seasons any hitter has ever had. His greatest season was the incredible 1967 Triple Crown campaign when he was the AL MVP and led the Red Sox to the World Series. Yaz led the league in batting average three times, on-base percentage four times, and slugging percentage three times. His first all-star season was in 1963 and he would eventually be named to the all-star team 18 times. The Red Sox had Pete Runnels at second base, so they moved Yaz to left field and sent him to the Triple-A Minneapolis Millers, where he hit. Williams told him, “Don’t let them screw around with your swing. When the season ended, he was invited to Fenway Park and met Ted Williams. He’d played shortstop in college but was moved to second base in his first year in the minor leagues. This was in the days before the draft had been established. Yaz played one year of college ball at Notre Dame, then signed with the Red Sox as an amateur free agent. The year after Teddy Ballgame retired, Carl Yastrzemski arrived and held down left field until the early 1970s, then handed the spot over to Jim Rice in 1974, with Yaz moving to first base. That left field spot for the Red Sox had an incredible run of talent, starting with Ted Williams from 1939 to 1960 (with three years missing due to World War II). Yaz played more games in left field than at first base, but there happens to be one of the greatest left fielders of all time standing out in left, so Yaz gets shifted to first base, where he played in 765 games. Carl Yastrzemski (with Red Sox from 1961-1983) ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |