Pastor Rich Zawadzki must have had fun playing with Carl Yastrzemski with the 1967 Red Sox in the Fall Chicagoland Tournament (though he used the original set, I believe). It’s a great card.
Pastor Rich in Red Sox garb taking on Chris Witt’s 1946 version of the Red Sox
In ‘67, Yaz was but a youngster at 27. For the Red Sox, he claimed the AL MVP and it was well deserved. He led the league in runs (112), hits (189), homers (44), rbis (121), hitting (.326), OBP (.418) and slugging (.622). All this while playing 161 games.
In addition to the MVP award, he was named to the All-Star team and received a Gold Glove award.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 Totals | 161 | 680 | 579 | 112 | 189 | 31 | 4 | 44 | 121 | 10 | 91 | 69 | .326 | .418 | .622 |
To fully appreciate Yastrzemski’s card, you have to understand that it’s good for 161 games and 680 plate appearances. His power numbers 1-1-5-6 over that span are fantastic. He also receives two 7s out to 55 plus a 15-10.
Not only that, Yaz has five 14s. If you’re counting them left to right, you might begin to worry. Never fear, he has three of them in the diceroll span of 56 and 64.
If you need more convincing, he got his trademark OF-3 and doesn’t have any 24s. Only two 13s for a homerun leader ain’t bad either.
Fun numbers: 33-5, 55-7, 64-14
It was one year later when Yastrzemski won the batting title with a .301 average. That the lowest average to win the title in modern day history.
Ironic trivia: Iconic Red Sox hero Carl Yastrzemski who played his whole 23-year career with Boston, was born in Southampton, New York.
Against the teams the Red Sox needed to beat to secure a playoff berth, Yaz played fantasticly, hitting .356 against the Twins, .328 against the Tigers, and .296 against the White Sox. In the final fifteen games of the season, Yaz batted an incredible .491 (27-for-55) with five homers and 18 RBIs, not only locking up his Triple Crown and MVP, but also guaranteeing the Red Sox would play in the postseason. It seemed that the more clutch the situation, the better Yaz played, as he performed even more spectacularly in the final ten games of the season, hitting .541 (20-for-37) with four home runs and 14 RBIs. And in the final six games, he hit .619 (13-for-21).
With two games left in the season, the Red Sox were a game behind the Twins with two to play against them. In those games, Yaz played the greatest games of his life, going 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs in the first game, helping the Sox win, 6-4, and 4-for-4 with a double and two RBIs in the final game of the season, helping the Sox win, 5-3. In all, he hit .875 (7-for-8) and knocked in six runs in the final two games of the season.
Great summary, Rich!
I wonder if anyone has the ORIGINAL 1967 season card for Yaz. There are a few interesting card making points, one of which is the value of Intentional Walks. My formula has Yaz JUST short of 5 walks (because 11 of his 91 walks were intentional).
Other than that, the Card Computer nails this one.
The 67 set was my first new set I ever purchased in 1968. Yaz has five 14’s but the card (like 67R)is almost the same as this one from 2010 but has one less hit number because there are only two 8’s. I believe this version is from the BATS collection which has been normalized to reflect the stingy 3.23 league ERA. If and when APBA issues 67RR A.L. hitter cards will get a nice boost like this one making them almost as potent as 1968.
Not to date myself, but 1967 and the Big Yaz are among my most special memories. You see I saw my first and only game at Old Fenway Park on July 4th that year. Yaz did basically nothing to remember (a walk I think in 4 PA). California won 4-3. But it was a special day, nonetheless, as it was the Debut of a young reliever, Sparky Lyle!
I had the card set once, and I remember Yaz having a single column card. I did not worry about 14’s in those days.
My brother played that season out, and Yaz wound up with HR in the 30’s with the card. The 1967 set was our first set in APBA.
Just a great season. Will we ever have another Triple crown winner? Yaz led in runs scored and hits, too, in 1967.