Andover's Mike Yastrzemski's Remarkable Rookie Season is Over

ANDOVER, MA — At 28-years-old with a middling minor league career, Mike Yastrzemski's Major League Baseball debut in May was hotly anticipated mostly for one reason: the grandson of Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski, the younger Yaz would be the first grandson of a Hall-of-Famer to make it to the show. He wouldn't be doing it for his grandfather's team (who selected him all the way back in the 2009 draft), but the San Francisco Giants were giving him a shot. The surprise: Yastrzemski seized that opportunity and slugged his way across the majors, hitting 21 home runs and showing himself as more than a fun bit of trivia.

He won't be Rookie of the Year, but Mike Yazstremski had an impressive rookie season, which ended Sunday night with the close of the regular season. Despite spending the first month in the minors, Yaz shared the team's home run lead, with 21, and batted .273 with 55 runs batted in. (Those are almost exactly superstar Bryce Harper's Rookie of the Year season numbers.) In more advanced statistics, Yaz does similarly well, leading San Francisco's position players in Wins Above Replacement, as well.

Perhaps the highlight of that season was a series the Giants played at Fenway Park, Sept. 17-19. In his first game at his grandfather's home park, Yaz hit his 20th home run. That made him the first Giants rookie to hit 20 dingers in 47 years, and numbered the 238th Yastrzemski home run at Fenway — the first since his grandfather's last in 1983. Before the second game, the elder Yaz threw out the first pitch, to the younger.

Mike Yastrzemski homered for the first time at Fenway Park 36 years, one month, two weeks, and three days after his grandfather's last home run there (July 31, 1983 vs MIL).
#SFGiants pic.twitter.com/IhaIVmCgoM
— #ThankYouBoch (@SFGiants) September 18, 2019

It was a long road for a second Yastrzemski to make it to the big leagues. Yastrzemski's father, also Mike, made it to AAA. He died young, at 44, not living to see his son play professionally. Mike grew up in Andover and went to St. John's Preparatory School in Danvers and Vanderbilt University. Carl, now 80, helped train him along the way.