Carl Yastrzemski

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Lore & Background

Yastrzemski was born in Southampton, New York, to Karol Yastrzemski (anglicized to Carl) and Hattie Skonieczny. Both his parents were of a Polish background, and young Carl was bilingual from an early age. Raised on his father's potato farm, Carl played on sandlot baseball teams with his father, who, he maintains, was a better athlete than he was. Yastrzemski also played Little League Baseball, and became the first Little League player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He graduated in 1957 from Bridgehampton School. During his time there he was a successful three sport athlete participating in football, basketball and baseball. Yastrzemski was a career .512 hitter, he also threw a no-hitter with 18 strikeouts in the 1957 Suffolk Championship baseball game in 1957. He also set the Suffolk County record for most points in a varsity basketball season the same year. During his senior basketball season he set the Bridgehampton scoring record previously held by Jim Brown. He attended Notre Dame on a basketball scholarship briefly before embarking on his baseball career. Yastrzemski, who had studied business at Notre Dame, fulfilled a promise to his parents by finishing his degree at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, in 1966.

In Their Own Story

In 1967, with the Red Sox battling the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins for the pennant, Yastrzemski went into the final two games of the season trailing the Twins by one game. Their final two games were against Minnesota, with the pennant and home run title on the line. In the Saturday game, Yastrzemski went 3 for 4 with a home run and 4 RBI. The Red Sox won, 6–4. In the final game, Yastrzemski went 4 for 4 with 2 RBI in a 5-3 Red Sox win. In the two games with the pennant on the line, Yastrzemski was 7 for 8 with six RBIs. After the season, he fell one vote shy of a unanimous MVP award. He also won the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year and Sports Illustrated magazine's 'Sportsman of the Year' Award.

Reader's Guide

Yastrzemski signed with the Red Sox organization, which sent him to the minor-league Raleigh Capitals in 1959, where he led the league with a .377 batting average, winning both the Carolina League Most Valuable Player Award, and Rookie of the year. The organization moved him to the Minneapolis Millers for that post-season, Yastrzemski 7-for-18 as he and Millers beat the Fort Worth Cats four games to three to win the American Association championship. They then played the Havana Sugar Kings for the International League championship but were defeated in seven games. Yastrzemski then went on to play the entire 1960 season with the Millers. Yastrzemski began his Major League Baseball career in 1961. He hit his first home run off former Boston Red Sox pitcher Jerry Casale. Upon assuming the left-field position previously held by Ted Williams, he faced significant public and media attention. During his rookie year, he batted .266 with 11 home runs and 80 RBIs. Yastrzemski later commented on his rookie season, stating, "I started off very slow. I actually think that was on account of Ted. I was trying to emulate him—be a home run hitter and not be myself: just an all-around player. I could never be a Ted Williams as far as hitting was concerned." Williams later watched Yastrzemski during batting practice that season and told him he had “a great swing and to just go out and use it." Yastrzemski’s play improved in 1962, when he posted a .296 batting average with 19 home runs, 43 doubles, and 94 RBIs. While his first two years were viewed as solid but unspectacular, he emerged as a rising star in 1963, winning the American League batting championship with a .321 average. He also led the league in doubles (40) and walks (95) and finished sixth in Most Valuable Player voting. Additionally, Yastrzemski was selected to his first All-Star Game and won his first Gold Glove Award. His numbers declined slightly during the 1964 season; he recorded a .289 batting average, hit 15 home runs, and drove in 67 RBIs. He also hit a career-high nine triples that year. During the 1965 season, Yastrzemski hit for the cycle on May 14 in a 12–8 Red Sox loss to the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park. He went 5-for-5 with two home runs and one walk, becoming the 13th player in Red Sox history to hit for the cycle while also tying a team record with 14 total bases. This performance raised Yastrzem

Did You Know?

• Yastrzemski is the first American League player in the 3,000 hit club to also accumulate over 400 home runs.
• He won the Triple Crown in 1967, the last major league hitter to do so until Miguel Cabrera in 2012.
• Yastrzemski became the first Little League player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• During his senior basketball season at Bridgehampton School, he set the scoring record previously held by Jim Brown.