Carl Yastrzemski, baseball player, 452 home runs, 1961-1983

Carl Yastrzemski

⭐ Hall of Fame 1989

Born: 8/22/1939 in Southampton, NY, USA

MLB Debut: 1961-04-11 | Final Game: 1983-10-02

Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 175 lbs

Full name: Carl Michael Yastrzemski

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Biography

Carl Yastrzemski, born in 1939, was a legendary position player who had a prolific career in Major League Baseball from 1961 until his retirement in 1983. Primarily known for his tenure with the Boston Red Sox, Yastrzemski played a staggering 3,308 games and concluded his career with an impressive 3,419 hits. He was a dominant force at the plate, amassing 452 home runs and driving in 1,844 RBIs, which underscored his capacity to produce runs in critical situations. His career batting average of .285 and 168 stolen bases reflected both his power and agility, making him a well-rounded player who could impact games in multiple ways. Yastrzemski’s career was marked by consistency and excellence, earning him 18 selections to the All-Star Game and the prestigious All-Star Game MVP award. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989, a testament to his significant contributions to the sport. Yastrzemski played during a transformative era in baseball, bridging the gap between the deadball era and the more modern offensive explosion that characterized the following decades. His legacy continues to resonate within the game, as he remains an iconic figure in Red Sox history and a model of dedication and skill for future generations of players.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
3308 11988 1816 3419 646 59 452 1844 168 1845 1393 0.285 0.379 0.462 0.841 54270.5

Career AVG .285 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — +12.1% above league average.

Career OBP .379 vs. league average .320 across their career seasons — +18.5% above league average.

Career SLG .462 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — +22.6% above league average.

Career OPS 0.841 vs. league average 0.697 across their career seasons — +20.7% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1961 BOS AL 148 583 71 155 31 6 11 80 6 50 96 0.266 .258 (+3%) .328 (-1%) .399 (-1%) .727 (-1%) -183.5
1962 BOS AL 160 646 99 191 43 6 19 94 7 66 82 0.296 .257 (+15%) .326 (+11%) .393 (+19%) .719 (+16%) 2059.6
1963 BOS AL 151 570 91 183 40 3 14 68 8 95 72 0.321 .246 (+30%) .308 (+35%) .371 (+28%) .680 (+31%) 3895.5
1964 BOS AL 151 567 77 164 29 9 15 67 6 75 90 0.289 .250 (+15%) .312 (+20%) .377 (+19%) .690 (+20%) 2332.0
1965 BOS AL 133 494 78 154 45 3 20 72 7 70 58 0.312 .245 (+27%) .310 (+27%) .371 (+44%) .682 (+37%) 3478.5
1966 BOS AL 160 594 81 165 39 2 16 80 8 84 60 0.278 .248 (+12%) .309 (+19%) .376 (+15%) .685 (+16%) 2184.4
1967 BOS AL 161 579 112 189 31 4 44 121 10 91 69 0.326 .242 (+35%) .306 (+37%) .357 (+74%) .663 (+57%) 6472.9
1968 BOS AL 157 539 90 162 32 2 23 74 13 119 90 0.301 .236 (+27%) .298 (+43%) .340 (+46%) .638 (+44%) 5078.0
1969 BOS AL 162 603 96 154 28 2 40 111 15 101 91 0.255 .248 (+3%) .320 (+13%) .369 (+37%) .689 (+26%) 3248.9
1970 BOS AL 161 566 125 186 29 0 40 102 23 128 66 0.329 .253 (+29%) .325 (+39%) .385 (+54%) .711 (+47%) 6036.5
1971 BOS AL 148 508 75 129 21 2 15 70 8 106 60 0.254 .249 (+2%) .316 (+20%) .365 (+7%) .682 (+13%) 1754.8
1972 BOS AL 125 455 70 120 18 2 12 68 5 67 44 0.264 .243 (+8%) .310 (+15%) .353 (+11%) .664 (+13%) 1208.3
1973 BOS AL 152 540 82 160 25 4 19 95 9 105 58 0.296 .256 (+15%) .325 (+25%) .378 (+22%) .703 (+24%) 2941.7
1974 BOS AL 148 515 93 155 25 2 15 79 12 104 48 0.301 .256 (+17%) .324 (+28%) .369 (+20%) .693 (+24%) 2862.3
1975 BOS AL 149 543 91 146 30 1 14 60 8 87 67 0.269 .257 (+4%) .327 (+13%) .374 (+8%) .701 (+11%) 1408.3
1976 BOS AL 155 546 71 146 23 2 21 102 5 80 67 0.267 .255 (+5%) .320 (+12%) .360 (+20%) .681 (+16%) 1821.8
1977 BOS AL 150 558 99 165 27 3 28 102 11 73 40 0.296 .264 (+12%) .329 (+13%) .401 (+26%) .730 (+20%) 2318.6
1978 BOS AL 144 523 70 145 21 2 17 81 4 76 44 0.277 .257 (+8%) .323 (+14%) .378 (+12%) .702 (+12%) 1472.6
1979 BOS AL 147 518 69 140 28 1 21 87 3 62 46 0.270 .265 (+2%) .329 (+5%) .397 (+13%) .727 (+9%) 990.1
1980 BOS AL 105 364 49 100 21 1 15 50 0 44 38 0.275 .264 (+4%) .326 (+7%) .387 (+19%) .714 (+14%) 953.1
1981 BOS AL 91 338 36 83 14 1 7 53 0 49 28 0.246 .255 (-4%) .320 (+6%) .368 (-4%) .688 (+1%) 156.2
1982 BOS AL 131 459 53 126 22 1 16 72 0 59 50 0.275 .261 (+5%) .324 (+10%) .388 (+11%) .712 (+11%) 1083.4
1983 BOS AL 119 380 38 101 24 0 10 56 0 54 29 0.266 .260 (+2%) .324 (+11%) .389 (+5%) .714 (+7%) 696.7

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
17 65 15 24 3 0 4 11 9 3 0.369

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1975 ALCS BOS 3 11 4 5 1 0 1 2 1 1 0.455
1975 WS BOS 7 29 7 9 0 0 0 4 4 1 0.310
1967 WS BOS 7 25 4 10 2 0 3 5 4 1 0.400

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 765 743 6459 512 41 610
3B 33 34 37 68 12 3
OF 2076 2049 3941 195 82 30

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1961 BOS OF 147 146 248 12 10 1
1962 BOS OF 160 160 329 15 11 3
1963 BOS OF 151 151 283 18 6 3
1964 BOS 3B 2 2 0 5 0 1
1964 BOS OF 148 148 372 19 11 3
1965 BOS OF 130 130 222 11 3 2
1966 BOS OF 158 152 310 15 5 2
1967 BOS OF 161 158 297 13 7 1
1968 BOS 1B 3 3 14 1 0 1
1968 BOS OF 155 153 301 12 3 3
1969 BOS 1B 22 21 181 21 2 29
1969 BOS OF 143 141 246 17 4 2
1970 BOS 1B 94 93 696 61 8 62
1970 BOS OF 69 66 120 3 6 0
1971 BOS OF 146 144 281 16 2 4
1972 BOS 1B 42 42 357 33 4 34
1972 BOS OF 83 82 141 10 4 1
1973 BOS 1B 107 104 912 56 6 85
1973 BOS 3B 31 32 37 63 12 2
1973 BOS OF 14 15 30 0 0 0
1974 BOS 1B 84 82 707 44 2 67
1974 BOS OF 63 62 99 2 4 1
1975 BOS 1B 140 137 1202 87 5 103
1975 BOS OF 8 8 15 1 0 0
1976 BOS 1B 94 93 829 52 2 78
1976 BOS OF 51 51 93 3 2 0
1977 BOS 1B 7 4 57 6 0 4
1977 BOS OF 140 140 287 16 0 1
1978 BOS 1B 50 47 387 41 3 47
1978 BOS OF 71 70 136 8 2 2
1979 BOS 1B 51 51 466 55 2 42
1979 BOS OF 36 36 63 1 2 0
1980 BOS 1B 16 15 160 10 4 19
1980 BOS OF 39 33 65 3 0 1
1981 BOS 1B 39 37 353 34 3 26
1982 BOS 1B 14 12 116 10 0 12
1982 BOS OF 2 2 3 0 0 0
1983 BOS 1B 2 2 22 1 0 1
1983 BOS OF 1 1 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
First Base 760
Third Base 34
Left Field 1912
Center Field 165
Right Field 8
Designated Hitter 412

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1979 Player of the Week Week of 1979-09-14
1977 Gold Glove OF
1977 Player of the Week Week of 1977-06-18
1975 Player of the Week Week of 1975-07-11
1971 Gold Glove OF
1970 All-Star Game MVP
1969 Gold Glove OF
1968 Gold Glove OF
1967 Gold Glove OF
1967 Hutch Award
1967 Most Valuable Player
1967 Triple Crown
1967 TSN All-Star OF
1967 TSN Major League Player of the Year
1967 TSN Player of the Year
1965 Gold Glove OF
1965 TSN All-Star OF
1963 Gold Glove OF
1963 TSN All-Star OF

Featured In Rankings

#15
Top 30 Outfielders in History of MLB Baseball
Ranked 15 of 30
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Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1978 Most Valuable Player AL 18th 17.0 392 0
1977 Most Valuable Player AL 17th 25.0 392 1
1976 Most Valuable Player AL 14th 26.0 336 0
1975 Most Valuable Player AL 30th 1.0 336 0
1974 Most Valuable Player AL 18th 14.0 336 0
1973 Most Valuable Player AL 19th 9.0 336 0
1970 Most Valuable Player AL 4th 136.0 336 2
1969 Most Valuable Player AL 18th 8.0 336 0
1968 Most Valuable Player AL 9th 50.0 280 0
1967 Most Valuable Player AL 1st 275.0 280 19
1966 Most Valuable Player AL 28th 1.0 280 0
1965 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 22.0 280 0
1963 Most Valuable Player AL 6th 81.0 280 0
1962 Most Valuable Player AL 18th 9.0 280 0