If you are of a certain vintage you are much more excited about this than if you know nothing about Carl Yastrzemski.
April 20, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; A statue former Boston Red Sox player Ted Williams placing a hat on a young fan near the Gate B entrance before the 100th anniversary celebration at Fenway Park before a game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
For the record, “Yaz” played 23 years with the Boston Red Sox. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, elected in 1989. Yastrzemski was selected to 17 All Star Games, won 7 Gold Gloves, achieved 3,419 hits and 452 home runs and won the Triple Crown in 1967. Clearly, Carl Yastrzemski’s legacy casts an ever-longer shadow
His famous #8 has been retired by the Boston Red Sox and sits on top of Fenway Park. In short, he was awesome to watch; powerful, graceful, completely in a class of his own. He was the consummate teammate on great Red Sox teams that never grabbed the brass ring.
On September 22nd, Yastrzemski will be honored at Fenway Park by having a statue dedicated to his incredible impact on thr Red Sox organization. As reported on red sox.com, “The statue will capture a moment that took place on Sunday, October 2, 1983, when the lifelong Red Sox star tipped his helmet to fans at Fenway Park before the final at-bat of his 23-year career. The Hall of Famer retired that day having played the most games, 3,308, that any player had ever played to that point in the history of Major League Baseball.”
This will be the third statue dedicated to Yaz, located outside the ballpark’s Gate B entrance between the Ted Williams statue and “The Teammates” statue depicting Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr, and Williams.
“This is quite an honor,” Yastrzemski told red sox.com . “To have a bronze statue at Fenway Park is something I never could have imagined, and I am very grateful to the Red Sox for this kind gesture.”
During his career, Yastrzemski smacked 452 career home runs, scored 1,816 runs, drove in 1,844 runs, hit 646, had a .379 on-base percentage, won seven Gold Gloves, was an 18-time All-Star and had a Miguel Cabrera-esque 1967 Triple Crown season leading the Red Sox “Impossible Dream” team to the American League Championship in 1967. The Sox were awful the year before. Sound familiar?