Editing Carl Yastrzemski (section)

===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.