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Carl Yastrzemski Photo Gallery
I think we’re all aware of what a great player Carl Yastrzemski was, and we’re aware of his heroic role in the Red Sox’ 1967 pennant drive and subsequent World Series championship. But when you read about all the specifics – as recounted for us today by Vince Jankoski – you’ll undoubtedly be as surprised as I was at just how spectacular his role was. As Vince mentions, it may be the greatest clutch performance in the history of the game. -GL
Yaz’s Heroics in the Red Sox’ 1967 Pennant Drive!
“I think about baseball when I wake up in the morning. I think about it all day and I dream about it at night. The only time I don’t think about it is when I’m playing it.” -Carl Yastrzemski
The 1967 American League pennant race finished in a near-dead heat. The Red Sox won, but Detroit and Minnesota ended the season only a game back. The fourth-place Chicago White Sox were three back and were in contention until the final few games.
Boston started the season slowly. On May 13, they were in ninth place in the 10-team American League. They moved up from there in fits and starts, but were stuck in the fifth position – 42-40, six games out of first – after losing to Baltimore at home on July 13. From there, they went on a tear, winning 10 in a row, boosting them into second place, only a half-game behind the White Sox.
They subsequently cooled off but managed to maintain the second spot in the standings until August 9 after which they lost three one-run games in a row to California, slipping to fifth but still only two and a half games out of first. Again, they moved up – into a tie for the lead after sweeping a doubleheader against Washington on August 22. They maintained that position until September 1. A three-game sweep by Baltimore September 15-17 left the Red Sox in third. However, they were only a game out of first.
The stretch run proved to be perhaps the greatest one-man effort in the history of the game. On Monday, September 18, Boston traveled to Detroit for a two-game set against the contending Tigers. In the first game, Yaztremski went 3-4 with a double and a home run. In the top of the ninth with Detroit ahead 5-4, Yaz’s homer tied the game, allowing Dalton Jones to win it with a homer in the tenth.
Yaz got no hits the next day, but his base on balls enabled him to score what proved to be the winning run during the Sox three-run rally in the top of the ninth in a 4-2 Sox victory. They were now tied for first with Minnesota. The White Sox were third, a half-game behind. Detroit held the fourth spot, a full game back.
Boston next went to Cleveland. On Wednesday, September 20, Yaz went 4-5 in a 5-4 Sox win. With the score tied in the top of the ninth, he started a two-out rally with a single to center. After advancing on a wild pitch, he scored the winning run on Reggie Smith’s single.
Yaz only contributed a double and a walk the following day, scoring one run in a 6-5 Sox win.
From there it was on to Baltimore for a four-game set. On September 22, the Sox were shellacked by the Orioles 10-0 in the opener of a doubleheader with Yaz contributing only a single and a walk. Boston returned the favor in the nightcap, winning 10-3. Yaz again had a single and a walk, scoring two runs. The Red Sox lost the next day, although not for Yaz’s lack of contribution. Yaz hit a two-run homer during a four-run Boston uprising in the fifth inning, giving the Sox a temporary 5-4 lead. Boston rebounded on Sunday, September 24, winning 11-7. Yaz singled, was hit by a pitch, scored one run, and drove in another. The split in Baltimore left the Red Sox in second position, a half-game behind Minnesota, and a half-game ahead of Chicago, and a full game in front of Detroit.
Leaving Baltimore, the Sox came back to Fenway and lost to Cleveland on September 26, 6-3. Yaz drove in all of the Sox runs with a three-run homer in the seventh off Luis Tiant. The Tribe shut out the Sox the following day 6-0. Yaz had a hit and a walk. The losses to Cleveland left the Sox a game behind the Twins, tied for second with Detroit. The White Sox, who had dropped a doubleheader that day to Kansas City, were in fourth but only a game and a half out of first.
All of the contenders were idle on September 28. The White Sox lost to the Senators on September 29 while Boston, Minnesota, and Detroit were all idle for a second straight day. Chicago’s loss put them in fourth place, two games out, and eliminated them from contention.
Minnesota came to Fenway on September 30. Entering that day’s action, Minnesota still led by a game over Boston and Detroit. With the pennant squarely on the line, Yaz was at his best: 3-4 with a home run, knocking in four of the Sox six runs in a 6-4 Sox victory. He singled in the first with two out but remained there when Ken Harrelson struck out. He struck out in the third but came alive in the fifth when he drove in the go-ahead run with a single. He provided insurance in the seventh with a three-run homer, giving the Red Sox a 6-2 lead which they never relinquished.
The win pulled Boston into a tie with the Twins. Detroit remained a half-game back after beating California. The pennant would be decided on the final day of the season.
In the finale, Yaz singled in the first and doubled in the fourth, but was stranded both times as the Sox fell behind 2-0. He tied the score with a two-run single in the sixth. After advancing to third on a fielder’s choice and an Al Worthington wild pitch, he scored a go-ahead run on another Worthington wild pitch. He singled to load the bases in the seventh. The Sox won the game and the pennant, 5-3.
Meanwhile, Detroit split a doubleheader with the Angels. They finished tied with Minnesota for second.
In the 12-game push to the pennant from September 18 to October 1, Yaz batted .545 (24 for 44), had an OBP of .615, a slugging average of .909, and an OPS of 1.524. In the long history of professional baseball, there may have been hotter batting streaks, but probably not one that came at such a crucial moment in such a close pennant race.
Yaz continued his torrid hitting in the World Series. He batted .400 (10 for 25) with two doubles and three home runs. His four walks upped his OBP to an even .500. He slugged .840. He went hitless in Game One, a 2-1 loss to Bob Gibson and the Cardinals. In Game Two, he drove in four of his team’s five runs with two homers in a 5-0 victory. He went 2-for-7 in losses in Games Three and Four. With his team facing elimination, he went 1-for-3 (a double) in Game Five and exploded in Game Six, going 3-for-4 with a walk. Boston won both games. In Game Seven, again facing Gibson, he went 1-for-3 with a walk.
In addition to capturing the Triple Crown and MVP, Yaz won the third of his seven gold gloves. But it was in the final two weeks of the campaign that Yaz showed how to carry a team. It may have been the greatest streak of clutch hitting in the game’s history.
Vince Jankoski
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Gary Livacari
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