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4 unusual facts about Carl Yastrzemski


Carl Yastrzemski

Earlier in the film, Ben's girlfriend, Lindsay Meeks (Drew Barrymore), not yet familiar with the triumphs and tribulations of the Red Sox, is unable to properly pronounce Yastrzemski's name, and has to be corrected by the surrounding fans: "Ya-STREM-ski!" The final scene of the movie indicates that if the couple's unborn child is a girl she will be named "Carla Yastrzemski Wrightman."

A record album of the Red Sox's 1967 season, aptly titled "The Impossible Dream", featured a song by DJ Jess Cain of praise for "The man they call Yaz", which included the line "Although 'Yastrzemski' is a lengthy name / It fits quite nicely in our Hall of Fame." (A link to the song appears below.) The song can be heard, and the album cover can be seen, in the apartment of Ben Wrightman (played by Jimmy Fallon) in the 2005 film Fever Pitch.

"Yaz" attended Notre Dame on a basketball scholarship (his career Long Island high school scoring mark at Bridgehampton broke one previously held by Jim Brown) briefly before embarking on his baseball career.

Ed Sadowski

He was the last Red Sox player to wear uniform #8 before it was issued in 1961 to eventual Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Carl Yastrzemski.


Chuck Schilling

After playing for Boston's Triple-A Minneapolis Millers farm team in 1960, Schilling broke into the major leagues in 1961, the same year as his friend and fellow Long Islander, eventual Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski.

Sid Hartman

Over the years, his "close personal friends" have included the likes of George Steinbrenner, Bobby Knight, Lou Holtz, and Carl Yastrzemski.


see also

Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1989

The field also included some prominent Gold Glove winners: Jim Kaat, whose 16 at Pitcher was the record until broken by Greg Maddux; Johnny Bench, whose 10 at Catcher was record until broken by Iván Rodríguez; and Carl Yastrzemski, who won 7 as an Outfielder.