Simply Yaz

Someone recently mentioned that there hadn't been a poll on this blog for some time. I normally don't reward people for telling others what to do on their blog. But I'm in the right kind of vintagey mood, and a poll is needed for this.

It's time to determine the best 1970s card of another '70s star. I apologize for the blog title. But it's hard to come up with something catchy for Carl Yastrzemski. He wasn't the kind of player who drew attention to himself.

Yastrzemski was a constant presence when I grew up. He was already an aging veteran by the time I started following baseball, and it wasn't long before I knew that this was a guy that you revered. He played the game right and anyone who followed the Red Sox looked up to Yaz. In fact, I'd say that anyone who wasn't a Yankees fan had respect for Yastrzemski.

Yaz seemed to be a living, breathing example of the Red Sox's nearly century long struggle to win a World Series title. I wasn't around when Yaz won the Triple Crown, so maybe the game was easy for him as a youngster, but when I knew him it seemed like a bit of struggle. He was all concentration and business. But he always seemed to have a pained look on his face. During his final years, his body wasn't holding up.

He made the final out in the Red Sox's loss in the 1975 World Series and again in the 1978 special playoff game against the Yankees. I remember watching his foul pop to third base in the basement rec room of a Yankee fan.

Painful.

So, Yaz WAS the Red Sox for me, and when I heard his 3,000th hit on the radio (yes, the radio), I was as thrilled for him as a family member.

Without too many more words, here are his 1970s cards. Vote for the best in the poll on the left.

1970: This is one of three 1970s Yaz cards that I don't have. Here, Yaz poses in Yankee Stadium. He grew up on Long Island. I wonder if he was a Yankee fan?

1971: Again, Yaz at Yankee Stadium. It's possible this was from the same shoot as the 1970 card. This is one of the less than 100 cards that I need to complete the '71 set.

1972: Yaz is holding the bat a little higher than in the 1970 card. This pose appears a lot on his cards. Not an exciting guy, not an exciting poser. (His 1972 In Action card is a lot better).

It looks like he's posing next to a plot of land being groomed for a housing development.

 

1973: I have a feeling Yastremski didn't want to do a lot for these photos. This appears to be another spring training shot. This is the last of the '70s Yaz cards I don't have.

1974: Here, Yaz is going with the bat extended pose. That's about as much excitement as you're going to get from him. Notice, he hasn't cracked a smile yet. And he won't.

1975 Topps: Ah, another batting pose shot. At least we get to see his No. 8 here. Yastrzemski was so consistent that even the card number on the back stayed the same. He is card No. 280 in 1974 and in 1975.

1976: OK, children of the '70s, you knew this one was coming. This card BETTER win. It is one of the best cards of the '76 set and it is far and away Yaz's best card of the '70s (his 1980 card is pretty good). I believe this is Comiskey Park. Is that guy with the red cap on pumping his fist?

1977:  This is the first Yaz card I ever saw. And as you can tell, it hasn't been upgraded since. This card features Yaz's trademark grimace, or is it a smile? I don't know. At least it's a pose you don't see much on cards. Not from that angle anyway.

1978: This was one of THE CARDS to get in 1978 for my brothers and I, as well as select friends. It's almost like the All-Star shield has been placed on Yaz's chest. It's practically an iconic card in the set. One of the most meaningful of my growing up years.

1979:  Hoo-boy. It looks like Yaz is still waiting for whatever he was looking at in 1978 and it's STILL not coming. Perhaps it's that World Series title.

Topps could have gone with something a little different this year.

Yaz is from an era that's gone. The Red Sox have won two World Series titles in recent years and some of their fans are a bit cocky and annoying. A lot of fans of other teams don't even remember the times when people would always root for the Red Sox (except when they played their own team) because they were the anti-Yankees. I wish that time still existed. But it doesn't.

Although, I still consider the Rays bigger competition for the Yankees this year than the Red Sox.

There, Adam, you happy? A poll and a Red Sox Hall of Famer.

Now vote!