Yastrzemski, Carl

▪ American baseball player

in full  Carl Michael Yastrzemski , byname  Yaz 

born Aug. 22, 1939, Southampton, N.Y., U.S.

 

 American professional baseball player who spent his entire 23-year career with the Boston Red Sox (1961–83). Brooks Robinson (Robinson, Brooks, Jr.), of the Baltimore Orioles, is the only other player to have spent as many years with one team as Yastrzemski.

      Yastrzemski was one of the most durable and dependable players ever to play professional baseball, appearing in 3,308 games. Only Pete Rose (Rose, Pete) appeared in more major league games. And only two players, Rose and Hank Aaron (Aaron, Hank), had more at-bats than Yastrzemski's 11,988. An outfielder, Yastrzemski replaced the legendary Ted Williams (Williams, Ted) for the Red Sox. Although he did not have an outstanding career batting average—.285—he had 3,419 hits, the sixth highest total in the history of major league baseball. His 646 doubles rank eighth on the all-time list.

      The 1967 season was the jewel of Yastrzemski's career. In leading the Red Sox to the American League title, he won the Triple Crown with a .326 batting average, 44 home runs (tying Harmon Killebrew), and 121 runs batted in (RBIs). He also led the league in runs scored, hits, on-base percentage, and slugging average and was selected as the Most Valuable Player in the league. A very good defensive outfielder with a strong arm, Yastrzemski won seven Gold Gloves. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., in 1989.

Milton Jamail

 

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