San Francisco Giants: Comparing Mike Yastrzemski to his grandfather

The San Francisco Giants are set to take on the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, which means Mike Yastrzemski will be taking the field where his Hall of Fame grandfather starred.

As we come down the homestretch of the 2019 MLB season, the San Francisco Giants have one last interleague matchup.

A three-game series with the Boston Red Sox begins on Tuesday night from Fenway Park, and while both teams have fallen out of the playoff hunt, it’s a chance for Giants rookie Mike Yastrzemski to take the field where his Hall of Fame grandfather starred.

Carl Yastrzemski played 23 seasons with the Red Sox, racking up 3,419 hits, 452 home runs and 1,844 RBI for 96.4 WAR while making 18 All-Star Game appearances and winning 7 Gold Glove award and 1967 AL MVP honors.

Despite those stellar numbers, he didn’t exactly explode out of the gates as a rookie.

In many respects, his grandson has enjoyed a better rookie season, despite a smaller sample size of games:

• Carl: 148 G, 91 OPS+, .266/.324/.396, 11 HR, 80 RBI, 71 R, -0.3 WAR
• Mike: 96 G, 117 OPS+, .265/.324/.509, 19 HR, 51 RBI, 56 R, 2.0 WAR

Of course, there are some caveats.

First and foremost, Carl was 21 years old when he first broke into the majors, while Mike toiled in the minor leagues for sometime before finally getting an opportunity this year in his age-28 season.

To that point, Carl led the AL in batting average (.301) and walks (119) during his age-28 season, posting a .301/.426/.495 line with 23 home runs, 73 RBI and 90 runs scored in what was a stellar 10.5 WAR season.

So is Mike Yastrzemski on his way to overtaking the legacy of his Hall of Fame grandfather?

Probably not. But he’s put together an excellent rookie season, emerging as a potential long-term piece for the San Francisco Giants after coming over in an under-the-radar offseason trade.

Now he’ll have a chance to take the field at Fenway Park.