Yastrzemski goes to Fenway, Sandoval doesn’t
BOSTON — It’s been 36 years since a Yastrzemski last took the field at Fenway Park, but a bridge to another generation has finally been built.
When the San Francisco Giants open a three-game series in Boston on Tuesday, rookie outfielder Mike Yastrzemski will follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, Carl, and write a new chapter in the family’s history.
“It’ll be wild, really,” Mike said. “It’ll be really special.”
No one has appeared in more games at Fenway Park than Carl Yastrzemski, a Hall of Fame slugger who spent 23 seasons with the Red Sox from 1961-1983. An 18-time All-Star, seven-time Gold Glove Award winner and three-time batting title champion, Carl Yastrzemski is revered as royalty in Boston.
His grandson, Mike, is a 29year-old rookie who spent parts of seven seasons in the minor leagues wondering if he would ever earn a big league at-bat. Now, he’ll play at a stadium where his grandfather’s No. 8 jersey is retired.
“His grandfather, the name, how he’s playing this year, I think there will be a pretty big ovation for all three games,” Giants teammate and fellow Massachusetts product Tyler Beede said. “I’m fired up for it. I want to wear a GoPro.”
Carl, 80, is expected to appear at Fenway Park this week to
watch his grandson play in person for the first time since Mike was a college sophomore at Vanderbilt. It won’t be the first time Mike has played at the oldest stadium in the major leagues.
Yastrzemski first took the field in Boston in 2009 after the Red Sox selected him in the 36th round of the MLB Draft. The Andover, Massachusetts native had no intentions of signing with Boston and instead opted to accept a scholarship to Vanderbilt, but Yastrzemski said he played in a scrimmage featuring some of his fellow Red Sox draft picks shortly after the draft.
He also roamed the outfield at Fenway Park while playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League and during a fundraiser game hosted by his mother, Anne Marie, but Tuesday will mark his first professional game at the family’s baseball home.
“Trying to imagine those fans, the memories they’ve had and what’s going to go through them when they see a Yastrzemski out there in the outfield,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “I’m sure it’s going to bring back some great memories for them.”
Giants prospect Chris Shaw, a Lexington, Massachusetts native, said that despite never seeing Carl play a game, he grew up with an appreciation of what the Yastrzemski name means to baseball in Boston.
“You still just knew the name, like ‘Oh wow, there’s another Yastrzemski?’ “Shaw said. “In Boston, that’s held in the highest regard.”
Like Beede, Shaw anticipates Red Sox fans will erupt when Yastrzemski steps into the batter’s box this week.
“Insanity,” Shaw said. “I would expect he gets a standing ovation.”
The spotlight shines on Yastrzemski in a way that’s not relatable for most players. It is familiar, however, for Giants pitcher Dereck Rodríguez, the son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodríguez. Dereck and Mike have each dealt with the pressure of living up to a Hall of Fame lineage and establishing their own identity outside of a sizable shadow.