Young Yaz lives Possible Dream
Giants LF homers in his Fenway debut
Something about walking into an empty ballpark quiets the mind and then fills it with images burned in the mind during youth. It was no different for Giants rookie Mike Yastrzemski when he arrived at Fenway Park early yesterday afternoon.
“I got to walk in here by myself when I got to the field and there were a lot of memories of being in the stands, being in the stands for the World Series, being in the stands for the ‘99 Home Run Derby, the AllStar Game, being with family at games,” Yastrzemski the grandson said before playing left field and hitting his 20th home run for the Giants in the opener of a three-game series against the Red Sox. “Those things overwhelm you more than actually playing here. The playing here is cool. I see it as part of my job, something I’ve always wanted to do. So that doesn’t overwhelm me. Being able to do it in a setting where I have so many fond memories with friends, family, and being able to do it here is special.”
No telling how many people walk into an empty Fenway Park on an organized tour or through some other connection and instantly see in their minds Mike Yastrzemski’s grandfather Carl deking a baserunner on a ball off the wall, or circling the bases with another home run, or making the crowd grow louder, louder, louder, then explode as he slides into third with a triple.
Mike Yastrzemski, educated at St. John’s Prep and Vanderbilt University, understands now where those baseball fans are coming from, although he said it wasn’t until he turned “15, 16” that he “started to see the magnitude of the effect he’s had on this city.”
Carl turned 28 in the final weeks of his .326-44-121 Triple Crown season in 1967, the Impossible Dream season that Bob Gibson made sure fell a game short of breaking the curse.
At that point in his life, Mike was in his sixth season in the Orioles’ system, still waiting for a call to the big leagues. That didn’t come until the Giants, who traded for him late in spring training, needed an outfielder early this season. Mike made his debut May 25 and has played so well that the main question surrounding him is what took so long for someone to see he was up to the challenge of hitting bigleague pitching?
Hours before first pitch, Mike and his grandfather visited at Fenway Park, where they did a joint TV interview standing in left field with Peter Gammons.
“People in Sacramento did a great job,” Carl said of the Giants’ Triple A affiliate, relaying what his grandson told him. “I didn’t expect this power all at once, but they helped him out a lot and I know he’s thankful to those people.”
He thought back to when he joined the Red Sox in 1961, two years before winning his second of three batting titles.
“I think the whole thing is when you first come to the big leagues it’s very difficult,” Yaz said. “I know it was for me because always in the back of my mind was the thought that, ‘Do I belong here?’ And I think that goes on for a few months until you kind of get settled and say, ‘Yes, I do belong here.’ He’s adjusted pretty well to it.”
Mike was born Aug. 22, 1990, one day before his Hall of Fame grandfather’s 51st birthday.
“He played over 700 games in the minor leagues,” Carl said. “I think he appreciated getting to the big leagues.”
It means every bit as much to his grandfather, especially since Carl’s son, Mike’s father, Mike Yastrzemski made it as far as Triple A and was forced into retirement by an Achilles injury before ever realizing his dream. He died at 44 after having a blood clot from hip surgery.
“I think the only thing I can compare it to anything is if I compare it to the ’67 season,” Carl said. “That’s what it means to me, him being here. It’ll be the first time ‘Yastrzemski’ will be announced on the field since ’83.”
Carl said he watches his grandson’s games on MLB Network and that for games played on the West Coast by the time he unwinds he doesn’t get to sleep until about 2 a.m., and always wakes up at 6:30 a.m.
Still, he said, “I watch them all.”
His plan called for watching last night’s game on TV and then joining the extended family tonight to watch his grandson play ball in person.