Projo Sox Blog

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

BALTIMORE -- Word that Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski was hospitalized after experiencing chest pains quickly spread around the Red Sox clubhouse here Tuesday afternoon.

Just minutes before 4 o'clock, Red Sox manager Terry Francona summoned broadcaster and former Sox second baseman Jerry Remy into his office to find out exactly what was going on with Yastrzemski. A bit later it was reported Yaz will undergo heart bypass surgery.

Remy, who played with Yastrzemski from 1978 to 1983, spoke very highly of The Captain.

"Until the day he retired, he wanted to be the best," said Remy. Near the end of his career, Remy added, Yaz "was a DH and would spend hours and hours hitting . . . He was a fierce competitor.

"I don't think he was the most talented of all the Hall of Famers, but he would certainly outwork them."

Remy recalls Yaz' last weekend at Fenway in 1983, when he used a different bat for every plate appearance and then gave each of his teammates a bat at the end of the season.

"The thing I'll remember most about Yaz was the '78 playoff game," added Remy. "We lost and my locker was right next to his, and he was crying like a little baby after that game because he had never won a championship. He knew he was getting close to the end of his career."

Yaz' career changed during the 1967 Impossible Dream season.

He won the Triple Crown that year - the last player to accomplish that feat - and was the MVP, too.

"I became a Red Sox fan because of that team," said Remy, who grew up in Somerset. "He did everything for that club that year. When you think about the Impossible Dream team, he's the guy you think about."

Also walking around the Red Sox clubhouse yesterday afternoon was Hall of Fame pitcher and current Orioles broadcaster Jim Palmer.

"He could run the bases and he could hit home runs," recalled Palmer, who pitched against Yastrzemski for all but the final year of his own career. "He could hit for average. He could hit your best pitch and your worst pitch. Until late in his career I don't think we got him to swing at a bad pitch we threw. Obviously, he was a very tough out."

Palmer said he had one goal when he faced Yaz.

"To keep the ball in the ballpark," Palmer said with a smile. "Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't."

Yaz hit four home runs in his career against Palmer. Ironically, his final home run came against Palmer but it didn't count; the game was rained out and the homer was erased from the record books. Palmer held Yastrzemski to a .243 average in 169 at-bats from 1965 to '83.

Anytime Yaz' name in mentioned around Fenway Park and Remy is within earshot, he'll get emotional talking and thinking about The Captain. Remy is clearly concerned for his friend and former teammate.

"When he (retired) it was like a part of Red Sox history was gone forever," said Remy. "It really was a weird feeling. It was emotional because you felt like a part of your childhood was gone. Think about what he accomplished. He wasn't a big guy by today's standard of players, even in his time. He wasn't a big guy, but he could generate a lot of power."

 Tags  Boston Red Sox Carl Yastrzemski Jerry Remy Jim Palmer

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