Boston Red Sox All-Time 25-Man Roster
First Baseman
Carl Yastrzemski (with Red Sox from 1961-1983)
.285/.379/.462, 3308 G, 13992 PA, 130 OPS+ (with Red Sox)
Yaz played more games in left field than at first base, but there happens to be one of the greatest left fielders of all time standing out in left, so Yaz gets shifted to first base, where he played in 765 games. That left field spot for the Red Sox had an incredible run of talent, starting with Ted Williams from 1939 to 1960 (with three years missing due to World War II). The year after Teddy Ballgame retired, Carl Yastrzemski arrived and held down left field until the early 1970s, then handed the spot over to Jim Rice in 1974, with Yaz moving to first base. All three are Hall of Famers.
Yaz played one year of college ball at Notre Dame, then signed with the Red Sox as an amateur free agent. This was in the days before the draft had been established. He’d played shortstop in college but was moved to second base in his first year in the minor leagues. He hit .377/.472/.579 in 120 games that year. When the season ended, he was invited to Fenway Park and met Ted Williams. Williams told him, “Don’t let them screw around with your swing. Ever.”
The Red Sox had Pete Runnels at second base, so they moved Yaz to left field and sent him to the Triple-A Minneapolis Millers, where he hit .339/.391/.467. He joined the Red Sox in 1961. His first all-star season was in 1963 and he would eventually be named to the all-star team 18 times.
Yaz led the league in batting average three times, on-base percentage four times, and slugging percentage three times. His greatest season was the incredible 1967 Triple Crown campaign when he was the AL MVP and led the Red Sox to the World Series. According to FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement, this was one of the 20 greatest seasons any hitter has ever had.
That 1967 season was amazing overall, but Yaz turned it up a notch in the final two weeks as the Red Sox were gunning for the pennant. In the final 12 games, he was 23-for-44 with 14 runs scored and 16 RBI. He was 7-for-8 in the final two must-win games of the season. The Red Sox lost the World Series in seven games when they ran up against the Bob Gibson Experience, but Yaz did his part by going 10-for-25 with four runs and five RBI.
Yaz continued to lead the Red Sox for the rest of the 1960s and into the 70s. He had a slightly down year during the 1975 regular season, but hit .455/500/.818 in the ALCS against the Oakland A’s, then hit .310 with a .382 OBP against the Reds in the 1975 World Series.
One of the impressive things about Yastrzemski’s long career was his consistency. He had three incredible years in which he was worth more than nine wins above replacement (1967, 1968, 1970). He was also worth more than 2 WAR every year from 1962 to 1979 and averaged 5.2 WAR per season during this 18-year stretch.
Yaz finished his career as the Red Sox all-time leader in many categories, including games played, plate appearances, runs scored, hits, and RBI. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame with 94.6% of the vote in 1989.