It wasn't for lack of effort by Yastrzemski, as he was one of the best of his time. The Outfielder would play most of his career in what was called the dead ball era, yet he still put up potent power numbers with three 40 Home Run Seasons, including one Home Run Title in 1967. That was a special campaign for Yaz, who was in his sixth year in the Majors, and he would lead the AL in Runs Scored (112), Hits (189), Runs Batted (121), Batting Average (.326), On Base Percentage (.418), and Slugging Percentage (.622). He would easily win the MVP that year.
1967 was not the only year he would win a Batting Title, as he would do that in 1963 and 1968. He was a five-time On Base Percentage Champion, three-time Slugging Champion, and eighteen-time All-Star. He may not have been as good a hitter as Williams (how many could?), but he was better with his glove, winning seven Gold Gloves, and was an eight-time league positional leader in Assists. He was also first among the AL Leftfielders in Total Zone Runs in five seasons.
As good as he was, he did not have the supporting cast to win the World Series. He would take them to the 1967 and 1975 World Series, and in the 17 post-season games, he had four Home Runs, 11 RBIs, and a Slash Line of .369/.447/.600.
Yaz retired after the 1983 season, and as of this writing, he is the franchise leader in Runs Scored (1,816), Hits (3,419), Doubles (646), and Runs Batted In (1,844).
Yastrzemski would enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 in his first year of eligibility. That year, the Red Sox retired his number 8. He was also inducted as part of the first Red Sox Hall of Fame Class in 1994.
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