One fan's Magnificent Seven in Red Sox history
By Rick McNair
The greatest individual season in Red Sox history
My next choice is Williams's replacement in left field, Carl Yastrzemski, and the heir apparent had hit .339 in his Triple-A season in Minneapolis. Big things were expected of Yaz, and with a team that was dreadful to watch, you needed a diversion.
I attended the opening day, and Yaz went one for five and tossed out a runner. An excellent start, but as the season wore on, two other rookies outperformed Yaz.
Second baseman Chuck Shilling played solid defense and hit .259. Schilling was another example of what could have been as injuries and poor performance gutted his career. Still, the lithe infielder finished third in the Rookie of The Year balloting.
Don Schwall, a towering righty, won the ROY Award and notched 15 wins for Boston. A deadly sinkerball hurler with a league-best 0.4 HR/9, Schwall soon faded, and a promising career was done.
Despite winning a batting title, Yaz was a disappointment for the next several seasons. There was even talk of Yaz being traded for Johnny Callison of the Phillies. Then came 1967.
How is it even possible to describe Yaz in 1967? Yastrzemski did it if an offensive or defensive play was necessary to win a game. A Triple Crown and MVP Award -- and MVP that was not unanimous. That piece of voting idiocy can be found here.
Yaz was in his career sweet spot for the next several years, but as the years collected, so did the numbers started to deteriorate. Still, the work is outstanding, even with a healthy dose of longevity.