Page 10
THE BATTALION
TUESDAY, JULY 3, 1979
The ageless, patient pro
Yaz gets better with age
United Press International
NEW YORK — Hawk Harrelson
was talking about the natural pro
cess of aging, how hellish it is to
grow old and how it eventually
catches up with even the very best
hitters, when he finally got around
to 39-year-old Carl Yastrzemski.
And that was where he stopped.
“I’ve known the man since 1963, I
see him every day and each day I
find myself more astonished by his
amazing grace than I was the day
before,’’ said the Red Sox’ former
outfielder-first baseman who now
does their games on TV.
“Remember the year he had in
1967? He was supposed to be at his
peak then. And now look what he’s
doing 12 years later! He’s a better
hitter now than he ever was,
“There’s no shame to it. I saw it
happen with great hitters like Mic
key Mantle, Al Kaline, Harmon
Killebrew, Frank Howard and
Brooks Robinson, all of ‘em. Not
with Yaz, though. He’s a much bet
ter fastball hitter today than he ever
was.”
Almost every time he comes to
bat for the Red Sox now, Yas
trzemski either approaches a new
record or breaks some old one.
When he doubled down the
right-field line his first time up in
the second inning of Sunday’s loss at
the hands of the Yankees at Yankee
Stadium, for example, it marked the
1,009th extra-base hit of his 19-year
career, tying him with Ernie Banks
of the Cubs for 13th place on the
all-time list.
Yaz, hitting a cool .304, needs
only 49 more hits to reach 3,000 and
one more home run for 400. When
he attains both those goals he will
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become the first American Leaguer
ever to achieve this unique quinella.
Only Willie Mays, Stan Musial and
Hank Aaron have ever done it be
fore.
When you talk to someone like
Harrelson about Yastrzemski, he
talks about his incredible grace.
When you talk with Dwight Evans,
its his tremendous competitiveness,
and Mike Torrez dwells on his con
sistency and his discipline.
But the characteristic that im
presses me most about Boston’s
elder statesman is his restraint. His
patience and his professionalism, no
matter how intense the pressure is
around him.
“Experience probably has most to
do with that,” said Yaz. “Talking
with Ted Williams down through
the years also has helped me in that
regard. He always told me to be pa
tient, not to give in to the pitcher to
take a walk rather than go after a
pitch I really didn’t want.”
In Saturday’s 3-2 win over the
Yankees, it was Yastrzemski’s
ninth-inning homer off former
teammate Luis Tiant that gave the
Red Sox their winning margin. He
hit a curveball for the game-winner.
It was almost the identical pitch
Tiant got Yaz to tap back to him on
the mound his previous time up in
the seventh inning.
Yaz remembered the pitch Tiant
got him out on. Tiant remembered
it, too, and after he ran the count to
one-and-one on him in the ninth, he
came in with it again.
Bye-bye. About 10 rows up in the
lower right-field seats.
A patient Yastrzemski had been
waiting for that same pitch again,
only this time he didn’t tap it back.
In all the years he has been with
the Red Sox, Yaz has been in many
different pressure situations and had
hundreds of different experiences.
Of them all, though, he likes to
call to mind one in particular in De
troit during his rookie season in
1961.
“I was only 19 years old, and tak
ing Ted Williams’ place in left field,
there was tremendous pressure put
on me by the news media,” he
thought back. “On this particular
day, Frank Lary broke my bat on
me twice and struck me out twice. I
had gone for the collar, it was two
months or so into the season and I
was hitting .220 or something like
that.
“Sitting in front of my locker, I
was thinking maybe it was too
tough, maybe I wouldn’t make it in
the big leagues. Mike Higgins, our
manager then, spotted it. He
must’ve known the way I felt, what I
was thinking. He came over to me,
put his hand on my shoulder and
said, ‘Don’t worry about it. You’re
my left fielder, this year, next year,
the year after no matter what.
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The hot summer weather and the upcoming
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Oiler rookies
head for camp (jg
United Press International
SAN ANGELO — Coach Bum
Phillips expected 54 rookies and
free agents to complete physical
exams and be fitted for uniforms
today in preparation for the start of
the Houston Oilers training camp.
One rookie Phillips was not sure
would attend the opening practice
Wednesday morning was second-
round draft choice Mike Stensrud of
Iowa State. He has not signed a con
tract and has failed to show up at the
camp.
Stensrud’s brother, Mai
in camp trying to maketheOS l
a free agent. Maynard saidMfifPERRYT
still at home in Lake Mills imp on stm
Neither Oilers officials n;mrt iteninp
srud’s agent, Randy HeockAhing ino
Houston, would say what wBces in re
ing the negotiators apart w j 1£
tedly, the Oilers do not want 0
Stensrud a four-year mi,Tjjj,,,,. p an h ;
sought. Krtageof
The rookies and free age: L et j ^j] en
game against Kansas CitysjK" , .
players July 18, the samed., Li *^J lls
veterans officially begin wo:i: t srects
ang that wh
lay toward
frop. Near
Humped or
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dieted, “se'
Day students get their news from the Batt.
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