Looking back at Yaz's Top 10 moments

If you’re a Boston Red Sox fan beyond the age of 40, chances are that at some point in your life, Carl Yastrzemski meant everything to you.

“Yaz” meant everything, partially because he did everything.

He could hit for average or slug for power. He played Fenway Park’s “Green Monster” left-field wall as if it were a violinist’s Stradivarius, knowing precisely how every batted ball’s carom would rebound. He persevered by overcoming the pressure of replacing the legendary Ted Williams in left. He endured, tying Baltimore’s Brooks Robinson for the most seasons spent with one club (23). And he succeeded because he knew how to adjust -- the challenge that faces all big leaguers day by day, even pitch to pitch.

Here’s a look at 10 of the biggest moments or events of Yastrzemski’s career with Boston:

1. Stretch-drive excellence
Sept. 18-Oct. 1, 1967

Yastrzemski determined the outcome of one of the best pennant races ever. As the sun set on Sept. 17, Detroit led the American League by a half-game over the Chicago White Sox. Boston and Minnesota were tied for third place, a full game behind Detroit. From that juncture on, Yastrzemski seized control of the Red Sox’s destiny. He hit .523 (23-for-44) with four doubles, five home runs, 16 RBIs and 14 runs scored in Boston’s final 12 games. The Red Sox posted an 8-4 record in this span. Yastrzemski asserted his already formidable presence on Sept. 18 by homering in the ninth inning to force extra innings at Detroit. The Red Sox ultimately prevailed in the 10th, and including that game, they won six out of eight. Then came a showdown with the Twins, who still led Boston by a game entering the season’s final weekend. Yastrzemski was near-perfect at the plate, going 7-for-8 with six RBIs to propel the Red Sox to a pair of victories and their first World Series appearance since 1946.

2. The Triple Crown
1967

Yastrzemski’s remarkable season -- a .326 batting average, 44 home runs, 121 RBIs -- made him the AL’s second Triple Crown winner in two years, following Baltimore’s Frank Robinson. Yastrzemski’s longball binge on the season’s final weekend enabled him to tie Minnesota’s Harmon Killebrew for the home run title. Yastrzemski became the first Red Sox player to win the Triple Crown since Williams in 1947. No other player would win the Triple Crown until Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera did so in 2012.

3. A dream deferred
Oct. 4-12, 1967

Given the Red Sox’s ninth-place finish in 1966, fans and media believed that the ’67 Sox were charmed. The team’s unofficial anthem became “The Impossible Dream,” the signature song from the musical “Man of La Mancha.” Yastrzemski did what he could to realize that dream to the fullest by batting .400 with three home runs in the World Series. However, “impossible” described Boston’s attempts to beat St. Louis right-hander Bob Gibson, who won all three of his starts, including a 7-2 decision in Game 7.

4. Back to the Series
Oct. 4-7, 1975

Yastrzemski led Boston to a three-game sweep over the three-time defending World Series champion Oakland A’s, batting .455 and recording two outfield assists. Overall, Yastrzemski was an excellent October performer, batting .369 in 17 postseason games. Boston’s triumph over Oakland set up a World Series clash with the Cincinnati Reds, which turned out to be one of the finest Fall Classics ever.

5. First in his class
Sept. 12, 1979

Yastrzemski rapped his 3,000th career hit -- an eighth-inning, two-out single off New York’s Jim Beattie -- to reach a truly unique milestone. He became the first American Leaguer to amass 400 home runs and 3,000 hits, a testament to his power, consistency and longevity. Yastrzemski later acknowledged that this was his proudest career achievement.

6. A true “gamer"
Oct. 2, 1983

Yastrzemski played his final game on this date and secured a third-inning single off Cleveland’s Bud Anderson. He ended his career with 3,308 appearances, a record which Pete Rose eclipsed the following year.

7. Topping Ted
July 14, 1977

Yastrzemski collected his 2,655th hit on this date to edge past Ted Williams for No. 1 on the Red Sox’s all-time list. Certainly, Williams would have been more prolific had he not missed the 1943-45 seasons while serving in World War II and parts of the '52 and '53 seasons while serving in the Korean War. But Yastrzemski’s achievement still reflects consistency and quality. Having begun his career with a stance in which he held his bat impossibly high, Yastrzemski lowered his bat over the years so he could better cope with challenging pitches.

8. Gold never tarnishes
1977

Yastrzemski won his seventh and final Gold Glove for defensive excellence in left field. This was particularly impressive since he had been used increasingly at first base since 1970. The fact that Yastrzemski turned 38 during that ’77 campaign further reflected his success at retaining his skill.

9. New decade, same Yaz
1970

Yastrzemski nearly matched his fabulous 1967 output in 1970. California’s Alex Johnson edged him for the batting title, .32899 to .32862. But Yaz amassed 40 homers and 111 RBIs while scoring a career-high 125 runs, which led the AL. Yastrzemski also suddenly became a basestealer, ripping off a career-best 23 bags after never pilfering more than 15 in his first nine Major League seasons. Moreover, he was named Most Valuable Player of that year’s All-Star Game despite the AL’s 5-4, 12-inning loss. Yastrzemski played the entire game, going 4-for-6 with a sixth-inning RBI single off San Francisco’s Gaylord Perry.

10. Solving Satchel
Sept. 25, 1965

Listed at age 59, the legendary Satchel Paige made a one-game “comeback” for the Kansas City A’s and pitched three shutout innings against the Red Sox. Paige yielded one hit -- a first-inning double to Yastrzemski.