[zeprock]

Today my childhood baseball hero and favorite player of all time popped up on the randomizer. Carl Yastrzemski was the star of the Red Sox team that went to the World Series vs. the Cardinals in 1967. Although the Sox came up short in that one, it was the "Impossible Dream" season and Yaz was front and center winning the Triple Crown that year. As a kid just getting interested in baseball around 1970, Yaz was the hero of many of us in New England. I pulled his All-star card out of the first pack I ever bought back in 1970. I did get to meet him and have him sign some cards for me. For that story, see post #153 in this thread. Yaz was an 18-time All-star who won three Batting titles to go along with seven Gold Glove Awards, a MVP Award and the Triple Croiwn. These days his grandson, Mike, roams right field for the Giants. I'm always excited to add a "new" card to my Yaz collection. As of this posting I have 559 unique Beckett recognized cards of him. Here are nine that I haven't shown you yet from my collection.

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1962 Topps #425 Carl Yastrzemski Autographed (One of three cards I had Carl sign for me when I did a commercial shoot with him back in 1987. I've never paid more than I did for this card when I bought it back in the early 1980s for $75. On my next visit to the store I learned that the proprietor of the store felt some remorse for charging me so much and gave me some store credit.)
1963 Fleer #8 Carl Yastrzemski Autographed (Another that I had him sign that same day.)
1963 Topps #115 Carl Yastrzemski

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1965 Topps #385 Carl Yastrzemski
1966 Topps #70 Carl Yastrzemski
1967 Topps #355 Carl Yastrzemski

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1971 Topps #530 Carl Yastrzemski (I first set eyes on this card when a fellow Boy Scout brought a new pack to a meeting back in 1971. I later managed to get a rough copy of it for myself and many years later upgraded to this near mint version.)
2001 Fleer Red Sox 100th Splendid Splinters Game Bat #8 Carl Yastrzemski
2001 Topps American Pie Timeless Classics Relics #BBTC17 C.Yaz 68 BA Jsy