On September 8th of my 1967 replay, Carl Yastrzemski hit his 43rd round-tripper of the season. In reality, Yaz hit 44 home runs en route to the last Triple Crown achieved in the majors. Yaz carried the Red Sox to The Impossible Dream with one of the most impressive final two weeks of a season. Yastrzemski immediately became a hero to thousands of 10-year-old children in New England and across America.
His previous home run high was 19 in his sophomore season of 1962. If anyone questioned such a disparity, it could be explained by Yaz's increasing maturity, his comfort achieved in the 1966 off-season after he received assurances he would not be traded by the Yawkeys, and an increased workout regimen. Steak and egg breakfasts, weekly workouts, and discipline explained such an power spike 42 years ago. Those explanations would rightfully be disbelieved in this day and age. This may lead some to think that 1967 was an innocent age. In 1967, 11,153 American soldiers died in Vietnam. Perhaps no time is truly innocent. Only in the eyes of 10-year-olds.
