Editing Carl Yastrzemski (section)

==Major League career==

===Early career===
Yastrzemski began his major-league career in {{baseball year|1961}}<ref name="Carl Yastrzemski at Baseball Reference"/> and hit his first home run off of former Red Sox pitcher [[Jerry Casale]].<ref>Buckley, Steve. Boston Red Sox: Where Have You Gone? 2005, page 139</ref> From the beginning, there was tremendous pressure on him to perform as he succeeded to the position of the great Red Sox legend [[Ted Williams]].<ref name="Rawlings Presents Big Stix: The Greatest Hitters in the History of the Major Leagues"/> He proved to be a worthy successor at the plate and a far superior defensive player with a strong arm, expert in playing off the [[Green Monster]], [[Fenway Park]]'s left-field wall. In 12 years as a left fielder, Yastrzemski won seven Gold Gloves and led the team in assists seven times.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://baseballbiography.com/carl-yastrzemski-1939|title=Carl Yastrzemski Baseball Biography|access-date=July 25, 2008|work=baseballbiography.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/gold_glove_al.shtml#1977|title=MLB American League Gold Glove Award Winners - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

While his first two years were viewed as solid but unspectacular, he emerged as a rising star in {{baseball year|1963}}, winning the [[American League]] batting championship with a batting average of .321, and also leading the league in doubles and walks, finishing sixth in the [[MLB Most Valuable Player award|Most Valuable Player]] voting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1963-batting-leaders.shtml|title=1963 American League Batting Leaders - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1963.shtml#ALmvp|title=1963 Awards Voting - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

===1967===
Yastrzemski enjoyed his best season in {{mlby|1967}}, when he won the [[American League]] [[Major League Baseball Triple Crown|Triple Crown]] with a .326 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]], 44 [[home run]]s (tied with [[Harmon Killebrew]]), and 121 [[Run batted in|RBIs]].<ref name="1967 American League Batting Leaders at Baseball Reference" /> Yastrzemski's Triple Crown win in 1967 was the last time a major league hitter won the Batting Triple Crown until [[Miguel Cabrera]] in the 2012 season (conversely, six different pitchers have since won the pitchers' version). He was voted [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player]] almost unanimously (one voter chose [[César Tovar]] of the [[Minnesota Twins|Twins]]).<ref name="1967 American League Most Valuable Player Award voting resultsa at Baseball Reference" /> His 12.4 [[wins above replacement|WAR]] was the highest since Babe Ruth's 1927 season.<ref>{{cite web|title=baseball-reference|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_season.shtml|website=baseballreference.com}}</ref>

1967 was the season of the "[[1967 Boston Red Sox season|Impossible Dream]]" for the Red Sox (referring to the hit song from the musical ''[[Man of La Mancha]]''), who rebounded from a ninth-place finish a year before to win the American League pennant (their first since {{baseball year|1946}}) on the last day of the season.<ref name="1967 American League Team Statistics and Standings at Baseball Reference">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1967.shtml|title=1967 American League Season Summary – Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> With the Red Sox battling as part of a four-team pennant race, Yastrzemski hit .513 (23 hits in 44 at-bats) with five home runs and 16 runs batted in over the last two weeks of the season, and finished a mere one game ahead of the [[Detroit Tigers]] and [[Minnesota Twins]].<ref name="1967 American League Team Statistics and Standings at Baseball Reference" /><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TCsDAAAAMBAJ&q=yastrzemski+baseball+digest&pg=PA66|title=Triple Crown Season in '67 Marked High Point for Yaz |author=Dan Shaughnessy |magazine=Baseball Digest |date=August 1992 |volume=51 |issue=8 |issn=0005-609X}}</ref> The Red Sox went into the final two games of the season trailing the Twins by one game and leading the Tigers by one-half game. Their final two games were against Minnesota with the pennant and home run title (hence, the triple crown) on the line. In the Saturday game, Yastrzemski went 3 for 4 with a home run and 4 RBI. Killebrew also homered, but the Red Sox won, 6–4. Thus the teams went into the final game tied for first place, and Yastrzemski and Killebrew were tied with 44 home runs apiece. In the final game, neither player homered, but Yastrzemski went 4 for 4 with 2 RBI in a 5-3 Red Sox win. In the two games with the pennant on the line, Yastrzemski was 7 for 8 with six RBIs.

The Red Sox lost the [[1967 World Series|World Series]] four games to three to the [[St. Louis Cardinals]], losing three times to [[Bob Gibson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1967_WS.shtml|title=1967 World Series – St. Louis Cardinals over Boston Red Sox (4-3) – Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> Yastrzemski batted .400 with 3 home runs and 5 RBI in the series. After the season, he fell one vote shy of a unanimous MVP award. He also won the [[Hickok Belt]] as top professional athlete of the year and ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' magazine's "[[Sportsman of the Year]]" Award.

In an article he co-wrote for the November 1967 issue of ''SPORT'' magazine, Yastrzemski credited Boston's remarkable season to manager [[Dick Williams]] and an infusion of youth, including [[Rico Petrocelli]] and [[Tony Conigliaro]]. Of Williams, Yastrzemski wrote: "He got rid of all the individuality, made us into a team, gave us an incentive, and made us want to win."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thesportgallery.com/sport-stories/1967nov-redsox.html|title=Carl Yastrzemski – Behind the Red Sox Turnaround – SPORT magazine|access-date=July 25, 2008|work=thesportgallery.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704165138/http://www.thesportgallery.com/sport-stories/1967nov-redsox.html|archive-date=July 4, 2008}}</ref>

===Later career===
[[File:Carl Yastrzemski at Fenway Park.jpg|thumb|250px|Yastrzemski bats at [[Fenway Park]] (c. 1979)]]
In {{baseball year|1968}} Yastrzemski again won the batting championship.<ref name="1968 American League Batting Leaders at Baseball Reference">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1968-batting-leaders.shtml|title=1968 American League Batting Leaders - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> Because of the competitive advantages pitchers enjoyed between 1963 and 1968 (before the lowering of the [[pitcher's mound]] following the 1968 season), Yastrzemski's .301 mark in "The Year of the Pitcher" is the lowest average of any batting champion in major league history; he was the only hitter in the American League to hit .300 that season against such formidable pitching, and led the league in on-base percentage and walks.<ref name="1968 American League Batting Leaders at Baseball Reference"/>

In {{baseball year|1969}}, Yastrzemski had the first of two consecutive 40-home run seasons as he led the Red Sox to third-place finishes that year and the next. In the {{baseball year|1970}} All-Star Game he got four hits, tying the record, and was named the game MVP in a losing effort.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NLS/NLS197007140.shtml|title=1970 All-Star Game Box Score, July 14 - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> He is one of two players to win the All-Star Game MVP Award despite playing for the losing team, [[Brooks Robinson]] having done so in [[1966 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1966]]. Yastrzemski's .329 batting average that season was his career high, but he finished second behind the [[California Angels]]' [[Alex Johnson]] for the batting title by less than .001.<ref name="1970 American League Batting Leaders at Baseball Reference">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1970-batting-leaders.shtml|title=1970 American League Batting Leaders - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> In 1970, Yastrzemski led the league in slugging and on-base percentage, finishing third in home runs.<ref name="1970 American League Batting Leaders at Baseball Reference"/> In the early 1970s, Yastrzemski suffered hand injuries that drastically reduced his power and productivity until healed. He also suffered a permanent shoulder injury that reduced his power, causing him to change his distinctive batting stance. Although he hit but 61 home runs over the next four years ([[1971 Boston Red Sox season|1971]]–[[1974 Boston Red Sox season|1974]]) as the Red Sox finished second twice and third twice, he finished in the top 10 in batting, and top three in on-base percentage and walks in [[1973 Boston Red Sox season|1973]] and 1974, and led the league in runs scored in 1974.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1973-batting-leaders.shtml|title=1973 American League Batting Leaders - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1974-batting-leaders.shtml|title=1974 American League Batting Leaders - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

[[File:YazTigerStadium.jpg|thumb|left|Yastrzemski bats at [[Tiger Stadium (Detroit)|Tiger Stadium]]]]
In the [[1975 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1975 All-Star Game]], Yastrzemski was called to [[Pinch hitter|pinch-hit]] in the sixth inning, with two men on base and the American League down 3–0. Without wearing a batting helmet, he hit [[Tom Seaver]]'s first pitch for a home run to tie the score.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ALS/ALS197507150.shtml|title=1975 All-Star Game Box Score, July 15 - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> The three-run homer was the only scoring the American League did that night as they lost 6–3.

Yastrzemski and the Red Sox suffered another World Series loss in {{wsy|1975}}, losing four games to three to the [[Cincinnati Reds]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1975_WS.shtml|title=1975 World Series - Cincinnati Reds over Boston Red Sox (4-3) - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> He made the final out in Game 7 on a fly out to center, trailing by one run.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS197510220.shtml|title=1975 World Series Game 7, Cincinnati Reds at Boston Red Sox, October 22, 1975 - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> Coincidentally, he also made the final out of the [[1978 American League East tie-breaker game]] with a foul pop to third base.<ref name="October 2, 1978 Yankees-Red Sox box score at Baseball Reference">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS197810020.shtml|title=New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox Box Score, October 2, 1978 - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> This game featured [[Bucky Dent]]'s famous homer (although [[Reggie Jackson]]'s was the eventual winning run). Earlier in the game, Yastrzemski began the scoring with a home run off left-handed pitcher [[Ron Guidry]], who was having a career year (25 wins, 3 losses and a 1.74 ERA).<ref name="October 2, 1978 Yankees-Red Sox box score at Baseball Reference"/> It was the only homer the [[Cy Young Award]] winner allowed to a left-hander all season.

On May 19, [[1976 Boston Red Sox season|1976]], Yastrzemski hit three home runs against the Detroit Tigers at [[Tiger Stadium (Detroit)|Tiger Stadium]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET197605190.shtml|title=Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers Box Score, May 19, 1976 - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> He then went to [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]] and hit two more, tying the major league record of five home runs in two consecutive games.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZDQDAAAAMBAJ&q=carl+yastrzemski+baseball+digest&pg=PA18|title=''Yastrzemski Recalls His Most Memorable Games'', by Peter Gammons, Baseball Digest, September 1981, Vol. 40, No. 9, ISSN 0005-609X}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA197605200.shtml|title=Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees Box Score, May 20, 1976 - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>
In [[1978 Boston Red Sox season|1978]] Yastrzemski, then 39, was one of the five oldest players in the league.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1978-other-leaders.shtml|title=1978 American League Awards, All-Stars, & More Leaders - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> On September 12, 1979, Yastrzemski achieved another milestone, becoming the first American League player with 3,000 career hits and 400 home runs.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pepe|first1=Phil|title=Catfish, Yaz, and Hammerin' Hank: The Unforgettable Era that Transformed Baseball|url=https://archive.org/details/catfishyazhammer0000pepe/page/313|url-access=registration|date=2005|publisher=Triumph Books|location=Chicago, Illinois|isbn=978-1-57243-839-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/catfishyazhammer0000pepe/page/313 313]}}</ref> In [[1982 Boston Red Sox season|1982]], playing primarily as a designated hitter, an early season hitting streak placed him among the league's leading hitters and saw him featured on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated'' and played in that year's All-Star game.

===Retirement===
{{MLBBioRet
|Image  = Red_Sox_8.svg
|Name   = Carl Yastrzemski
|Number = 8
|Team   = Boston Red Sox
|Year   = 1989
|}}
Yastrzemski retired at the end of the [[1983 Boston Red Sox season|1983 season]] at age 44,<ref name=scbgpgm>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aMcSAAAAIBAJ&pg=5949%2C258882 |work=Spokane Chronicle |location=(Washington) |agency=(Boston Globe)|last=Gammons |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Gammons |title=Yaz: The most popular man who ever wore the uniform of the Olde Towne Team |date=October 3, 1983 |page=18}}</ref> though he wrote in his autobiography ''Yaz'' that he was planning on playing the [[1984 Boston Red Sox season|1984 season]] until he was tired from a long midseason slump. He also said that had he known how good [[Roger Clemens]] would be, he would have played in 1984 to have had a chance to play with him.

No player has had a longer career with only one team, 23 seasons, a record he shares with [[Brooks Robinson]] of the [[Baltimore Orioles]].<ref name="Rawlings Presents Big Stix: The Greatest Hitters in the History of the Major Leagues"/> His final career statistics include 3,308 [[games played]] (second all-time and the most with a single team), 3,419 hits, 646 doubles, 452 home runs, 1,844 RBIs, and a batting average of .285.<ref name="Carl Yastrzemski at Baseball Reference"/> He had 1,845 [[Base on balls|walks]] in his career, and 1,157 extra base hits. Yastrzemski was the first player to collect over 3,000 [[Hit (baseball)|hits]] and 400 home runs solely in the American League (the feat has since been accomplished by [[Cal Ripken Jr.]]).<ref name="Red Sox retired numbers at MLB.com">{{cite web |title=History: Retired Numbers |url=http://www.mlb.com/bos/history/retired_numbers.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100219110215/http://www.mlb.com/bos/history/retired_numbers.jsp |archive-date=19 February 2010 |website=Boston Red Sox}}</ref> He was named to the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]] 18 times.<ref name="Carl Yastrzemski at Baseball Reference"/> Yastrzemski won three American League [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions|batting championships]] in his career.<ref name="Carl Yastrzemski at the Baseball Hall of Fame"/> In addition, he trails only [[Ty Cobb]] and [[Derek Jeter]] in hits collected with a single team, and trails only Cobb, Jeter and [[Tris Speaker]] in hits collected playing in the American League. Yastrzemski is also [[Fenway Park]]'s all-time leader in hits, doubles, and RBIs. By the time of his retirement, he was the all-time leader in plate appearances, since surpassed by [[Pete Rose]].

[[File:Yaz Signing autographs.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Yastrzemski signing an autograph at Fenway Park in 2008]]
As one of the top players of his era, he was elected to the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1989, his first year of eligibility, with the support of 94% of voters. He is one of the few Hall of Famers to directly succeed another Hall of Famer at the same position.<ref name="Red Sox retired numbers at MLB.com"/>  For his entire career with the Red Sox, he wore uniform number 8. The Red Sox retired this number on August 6, 1989, after Yastrzemski was elected to the Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Browne |first=Ian |date=1 December 2021 |title=Boston's all time retired numbers |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/red-sox-retired-numbers-c300556838 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201195719/https://www.mlb.com/news/red-sox-retired-numbers-c300556838 |archive-date=1 February 2023 |access-date=25 April 2023 |website=[[MLB.com]]}}</ref> In 1999, Yastrzemski ranked 72nd on ''[[Sporting News|The Sporting News]]''' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.<ref>[http://archive.sportingnews.com/baseball/100/ Carl Yastrzemski at ''The Sporting News'' 100 Greatest Baseball Players] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227144518/http://archive.sportingnews.com/baseball/100/ |date=February 27, 2009 }}</ref> That same season, he was named a finalist to the [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/mlb_history_moreinfo.jsp|title=The All-Century Team|website=Major League Baseball}}</ref> Prior to his induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame, in 1986, Yastrzemski was inducted into the [[National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dobek |first=Matt |title=Carl Yastrzemski - INDUCTION BANQUET PROGRAM STORY — June 5, 1986 |url=http://polishsportshof.com/inductees/baseball/carl-yastrzemski/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928085841/http://polishsportshof.com/inductees/baseball/carl-yastrzemski/ |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |access-date=October 2, 2013 |website=Polish Sports Hall of Fame}}</ref> He was inducted into the [[Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame]] on Long Island in the Baseball Category with the Class of 1990.

Yastrzemski thought that [[Tommy John]] was one of the hardest pitchers for him to hit against. This surprised John, who remembered Yastrzemski hitting him well while he was with the White Sox (1965-71). John concluded that Yastrzemski must be remembering his years with the Yankees beginning in 1979, when John fared better in their matchups.<ref>{{cite book|last1=John|first1=Tommy|last2=Valenti|first2=Dan|title=TJ: My Twenty-Six Years in Baseball|publisher=Bantam|location=New York|year=1991|isbn=0-553-07184-X|pages=275–76}}</ref>

Along with [[Johnny Pesky]], Yastrzemski raised the [[2004 World Series]] championship banner over Fenway Park.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kepner |first=Tyler |date=April 12, 2005 |title=With Rings and Then a Rout, It's a Great Day for the Red Sox |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/12/sports/baseball/with-rings-and-then-a-rout-its-a-great-day-for-the-red-sox.html?pagewanted=print |access-date=July 16, 2021 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> He is currently a roving instructor with the Red Sox, and was honored by throwing out the [[ceremonial first pitch]] for Game 1 of the 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018 World Series.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wcvb.com/article/carl-yastrzemski-to-throw-ceremonial-first-pitch-of-world-series/24118419 |title=Carl Yastrzemski throws ceremonial first pitch of World Series |website=[[WCVB-TV]] |date=October 23, 2018 |access-date=October 23, 2018}}</ref> In August 2008, Yastrzemski underwent successful [[Coronary artery bypass surgery|triple bypass heart surgery]] at [[Massachusetts General Hospital]]. The Red Sox honored him with a statue outside Fenway Park on September 23, 2013. Yastrzemski threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park on April 4, 2025 after a ceremony honoring the 50th anniversary of the [[1975 Boston Red Sox season|1975 Boston Red Sox team]].