Five-hole: All-Time Red Sox outfielder – Carl Yastrzemski
You know what’s wild to think about? Ted Williams retired after the 1960 season. Carl Yastrzemski made his MLB debut in the 1961 season. You could look at this one of two ways. One, Boston fans were blessed to have such a perfect successor for Williams who could immediately be the superstar. Two, Boston fans were robbed of getting to see the two play together. That’s just such a tease to be that close but not actually happen.
Either way, they got to see both. And Yaz was certainly something special. The left-handed hitter spent all 23 of his MLB seasons in Boston. In that time, he slashed .285/.379/.462 with 646 doubles, 59 triples, and 452 home runs. He drove in 1,844 runs, scored 1,816 more, and stole 168 bases.
Yastrzemski was a one-time MVP. He made it to 18 All-Stars (including a stretch of 15 straight seasons making it to the Summer Classic), won seven Gold Gloves, and in 1967 won the Triple Crown. It was the last Triple Crown in baseball until Miguel Cabrera managed to achieve the feat in 2012. Yaz is the last Red Sox player to do so though.
Boston has a pretty loaded history when it comes to talent. Yaz tends to stand out though. Not just for the fun name, but because of how consistently good he was in such a long career. They could count on Yastrzemski to be a monster in the middle of their lineup for over 20 years. That’s wild.
Another impressive stat with Yaz, he didn’t strikeout. He never had 100 strikeouts in a season. And even crazier, he had eight different seasons with under 50 strikeouts, plus another with 50 exactly. He put the bat on the ball, and managed to do it with a lot of force – he wasn’t just slapping singles.
While most of his career was spent in the three-hole, we’re batting Yaz fifth in this lineup. It feels like Ortiz fits better at three. Then after Williams, Yaz sort of resets the lineup. If Williams brings everyone home (which he did pretty often) you have Yaz to “leadoff” again. But if Williams leaves anyone on-base, you know Yaz will bring them home.