Yaz: Baseball, the Wall, and Me
A Boston Red Sox hero for 23 years, "Yaz" played in more baseball games than anyone in American League history, becoming the league's only member to accomplish both 400 home runs and 3000 hits. In this warmhearted memoir written with New York Times reporter Eskenazi ( Bill Veeck ), Yastrzemski tells how the foundations of his career were laid by his father, a Long Island farmer--and a good amateur baseball player himself--who decided that his son would play for Boston even though the future Hall of Famer harbored reservations about Fenway Park. Yaz continually stresses his physical limitations and his willingness to work against them; such dedication helped him to establish a strong rapport with working-class fans who filled the bleachers. He is exceedingly modest about his most memorable year, 1967, when he almost single-handedly took the Sox to a pennant, and waxes philosophical over the disappointments suffered by the team over the years. Photos not seen by PW.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.