Sunday, May 5, 2019

1981 Topps Carl Yastrzemski

The front: Here’s a rare occurrence – one Hall-of-Famer pictured in the background of another Hall-of-Famer’s card. That’s #27 Carlton Fisk digging into the batting cage behind Yaz.

The back: Yaz was one of the longest tenured MLB players, so no room for a blurb. (Not counting Minnie Minoso, he was behind Jim Kaat, Tim McCarver and Willie McCovey, all of whom had played in 1959).

The player: The best MLB player ever from Long Island (sorry, Craig Biggio), Yastrzemski made 18 All-Star teams in his 23 seasons. He won three batting titles and seven Gold Gloves, and led the Red Sox to a surprising pennant in 1967 as he won the AL Triple Crown, hitting .326 with 44 HR and 121 RBI. Overall in 3,308 games, he hit .285 with 3,419 hits, 646 doubles, 452 HR and 1,844 RBI.

The man: He has stayed involved with the Red Sox after his career as a roving instructor.

My collection: I have 26 of his cards, from 1967 to 1984. I would be interested in trading for 1960 Topps #148, 1961 Topps #287, 1962 Topps #425, 1963 Topps #115, 1964 Topps #210, 1965 Topps #385, 1966 Topps #70, 1971 Topps #530, 1973 Topps #245 and 1974 Topps #280.

2 comments:

  1. That's one of my favorite Yaz cards, yet I never made that Fisk connection! Now I love it even more!

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  2. That really is a cool card. And as someone who was born on Long Island, I agree with your "best player ever from Long Island" statement. (Although Biggio was a gem, too.)

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