Editing Carl Yastrzemski (section)

===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]].