Carl Yastrzemski (1989)


Date of Birth: 8/22/1939
Birthplace: Southampton, New York
College: Merrimack College / University of Notre Dame

Carl Yastrzemski played sandlot baseball with his father when he was a child. He also played on a Little League team. After high school, he went to Notre Dame University on a basketball scholarship. He signed his first contract with the Boston Red Sox in November, 1958.

Boston Red Sox

Yastrzemski played in the minor leagues for two years and made his first appearance with the Red Sox in the 1961 season. That year he batted .266 with 155 hits, 31 doubles, and 80 RBIs in 148 games.

Yastrzemski had a career high 191 hits in 1962. He batted .296 in 160 games and he had 43 doubles, 19 home runs, and 94 RBIs. He walked 66 times and struck out 82 times.

In 1963, Yastrzemski was the American League batting leader, with a .321 average. He also led the league in hits, doubles, walks, and on-base percentage. He had 183 hits, 40 doubles, 14 home runs, 68 RBIs, and 72 strikeouts to 95 walks in 151 games. His on-base percentage was .418. He also had a strong defensive season, winning his first of seven Gold Gloves. He led all AL left fielders in putouts with 284.

Yastrzemski batted .289 in 151 games in 1964. He had 164 hits, 29 doubles, 15 home runs, and 67 RBIs. He walked 75 times and struck out 90 times.

Yastrzemski led the AL in doubles, on-base percentage, and OPS in 1965. He had 154 hits, a career high 45 doubles, 20 home runs, 72 RBIs, and a .312 batting average in 133 games. His on-base percentage was .395 and his OPS was .931. He won his second Gold Glove that year. The following year, he led the AL in doubles with 39. He finished the 1966 season with 165 hits, 16 home runs, 80 RBIs, 60 strikeouts to 84 walks, and a .278 batting average in 160 games. He led AL left fielders in putouts with 307.

Yastrzemski had an outstanding season in 1967, when he won the AL MVP award, the AL Triple Crown, the Sporting News Player of the Year award, the Associated Press Athlete of the Year award, and the Hutch award. He led the AL in batting average, hits, home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, and OPS. He had 189 hits, 31 doubles, career highs in home runs with 44 and in RBIs with 121, and a .326 batting average in 161 games. He had an on-base percentage of .418 and an OPS of 1.040. He also played well defensively, winning Gold Glove number three and leading AL left fielders in putouts with 289.

Yastrzemski again led the AL in batting average, walks, on-base percentage, and OPS in 1968. He had 162 hits, 32 doubles, 23 home runs, 74 RBIs, and a .301 batting average in 157 games. His on-base percentage was .426 and his OPS was .921. He again won a Gold Glove and he led AL left fielders in putouts with 302.

In 1969, Yastrzemski led the AL in games played with a career high of 162. He batted only .255 that season, but he still played well with 154 hits, 28 doubles, 40 home runs, and 111 RBIs. He walked 101 times and struck out 91 times. He won Gold Glove number five that year.

Yastrzemski had another strong season in 1970, when he again led the AL in on-base percentage and OPS. He had career highs in batting average (.329), walks (128 to 66 strikeouts), stolen bases (23), on-base percentage (.452), and OPS (1.044). He also had 186 hits, 29 doubles, 40 home runs, and 102 RBIs in 161 games. He won the All Star Game MVP award in 1970.

Yastrzemski had a disappointing offensive season in 1971, batting just .254 in 148 games. He had 129 hits, 21 doubles, 15 home runs, and 70 RBIs. He played well, however, defensively, winning his sixth Gold Glove. He played in only 125 games in 1972, and he batted .264 with 120 hits and 68 RBIs.

Yastrzemski played better in 1973 and 1974, batting .296 in 1973, and .301 the following year. He had 25 doubles each season. He had 160 hits, 19 home runs, and 95 RBIs in 1973, and 155 hits, 15 home runs, and 79 RBIs in 1974.

Yastrzemski batted .269 with 146 hits in 149 games in 1975. He had the same number of hits in 155 games in 1976. That year, he batted .267 with 23 doubles, 21 home runs, and 102 RBIs. He played better in 1977, batting .296 in 150 games. He finished the season with 165 hits, 27 doubles, 28 home runs, and 102 RBIs. He won his seventh and final Gold Glove in 1977.

In 1978, Yastrzemski batted .277 with 145 hits, 21 doubles, 17 home runs, and 81 RBIs in 144 games. He had a similar season in 1979, when he batted .270 in 147 games. In 1980, he played in only 105 games, and he batted .275 with 100 hits.

Yastrzemski batted just .246 in 91 games in the strike shortened 1981 season. His numbers were better the following season. He finished the 1982 season with 126 hits, 22 doubles, 72 RBIs, and a .275 batting average in 131 games.

Yastrzemski played in 119 games in 1983, his final season in the major leagues. He finished the season with 101 hits, 24 doubles, 56 RBIs, and a .266 batting average.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Gold Glove (7 times)
  • AL Triple Crown
  • AL MVP
  • Sporting News Player of the Year
  • Associated Press Athlete of the Year
  • All Star Game MVP
  • Hutch award
  • Led AL in batting average (3 times)
  • Led AL in hits (2 times)
  • Led AL in doubles (3 times)
  • Led AL in walks (2 times)
  • Led AL in on-base percentage (5 times)
  • Led AL in OPS (4 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Yastrzemski in 23 seasons (1961-1983) in the major leagues include:

  • 13 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 191 in 1962
  • 8 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 45 in 1965
  • 8 seasons with 20 or more home runs, with a high of 44 in 1967
  • 5 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 121 in 1967
  • 6 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .329 in 1970

Career batting statistics for Yastrzemski include:

  • 3,308 games played
  • 3,419 hits
  • 646 doubles
  • 452 home runs
  • 168 stolen bases
  • 1,844 RBIs
  • 1,393 strikeouts to 1,845 walks
  • .285 batting average
  • .379 on-base percentage
  • .841 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Yastrzemski as a left fielder include:

  • 1,912 games played
  • 68 errors
  • 177 assists
  • 3,521 putouts
  • .982 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

Yastrzemski retired as a major league player in 1983.

Yastrzemski was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1989 on the first ballot with 94.6% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Carl Yastrzemski
ESPN - Carl Yastrzemski
Baseball Reference - Carl Yastrzemski

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