Known to millions of Boston Red Sox fans simply as, “Yaz,” Carl Yastrzemski is one of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball.
For 23 years, Carl Yastrzemski put on the number eight and played left field for the Boston Red Sox, earning 18 All-Star selections, seven Gold Glove awards, and the 1967 American League MVP.
The 1967 season would be the greatest of Yaz’s career. In addition to the MVP Award, Yaz won the Triple Crown, leading the league in home runs (44), RBI (121), and batting average (.326). Not only did Yaz record legendary statistics, he led the Red Sox to the World Series, beating the Minnesota Twins and his archival, Harmon Killebrew, in the American League Championship Series. The Red Sox would go on to lose the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals.
After a career that spanned three decades, Yastrzemski retired in 1983, after playing in 3, 308 games, the most, at the time, in MLB history. He recorded 452 home runs, 3,419 hits, 1,844 RBIs, and a .285 batting average.
Six years later, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, on his first year of eligibility, with 94.63% of the vote. His number eight was retired by the Red Sox that same year. In 1999, he was named to the Baseball All-Century Team, and in 2013 the Red Sox built a statue in his honor.
For 55 years, Carl Yastrzemski has been a staple of Red Sox Nation. Here are his top ten moments:
Next: Moments 10 and 9