Up until 1967, Carl Yastrzemski was a good player. He finished in the top 10 in the AL MVP voting twice but his season high in homeruns was 20 (1965). He did have one batting title (.321 in 1963) and he had two gold gloves. Then Yaz broke out in a big way.
His .326 batting average in 1967 wasn’t a career high (he’d hit .329 in 1970) but it was good enough to lead the American League. Only three players hit over .300 in the American League and Yaz outhit Frank Robinson, who came in second in hitting with .311, by a full fifteen percentage points. On top of that, Yaz led the league in just about everything else. He led with 44 homeruns and 121 RBIs to win the triple crown, the last player to do that. He also led the league in runs (112), OBP (.418), SLG (.622), and OPS (1.040). He was only third in doubles (31) and fourth in walks (91) and he even stole ten bases. And for all that, he won the MVP by a land slide. He garnered 19 out of 20 first place votes and the one he missed out on seemed a little bogus. Cesar Tovar finished tied for seventh and someone (probably local in MN) picked him as their top guy, possibly for his versatility (he played all three outfield spots, short, second and third).
Most importantly, Yaz got it done in September (and one game in October) when the team needed him. He hit .417 during that stretch and he homered nine times and drove in 26 runs in 27 games.
Yaz also got it done in the post season. He was 10 for 25 in the seven game series with the Cardinals and he homered three times. There was little doubt that Yaz was the MVP in 1967. Let’s take a look at his numbers
Games 161
AB 579
Runs 112
Hits 189
Doubles 31
Triples 4
Homeruns 44
RBIs 121
Walks 91
Strikeouts 69
Stolen Bases 10
Caught Stealing 8
BA .326
OBA .418
SLG% .622
OPS 1.040
RC 154
RCAA 85
RCAP 68
RC/G 10.17
ISO .295
November 4th, 2006 at 6:45 pm
[…] I wrote up my first 1967 bio over at the 1967 AL Pennant Race site and I picked the easy one. Carl Yastrzemski was nothing short of stud in 1967. He’s still the last guy to win the triple crown and that’s now going on 40 years. [link] […]
February 13th, 2007 at 8:48 am
Yaz also did it in the 2nd most depressed offensive environment ever. The 1967 AL hit only .236, and they would hit just 4 points lower in the famous “year of the pitcher” 1968.
April 15th, 2007 at 11:48 am
remember the 1967 sox like yesterday. first real baseball memories were of their upset pennant. as an aside, Bill Rohr, who pitched the near no-hitter against the Yankees is an attorney in California and is amenable to signing through the mail at no cost. His 1967 card is a more expensive than most high number, but worth it.
–Joe