Four New Legends to Introduce to MLB The Show 24

Carl Yastrzemski

So far, we’ve looked at two relatively recent players who would be fun to have in MLB The Show. So let’s turn the clock back a little further with Carl Yastrzemski. Yaz played all 23 of his MLB seasons with the Boston Red Sox, batting .285/.379/.462 with 452 home runs, 3419 hits, and a trophy case full of awards.

There would, of course, be a lot of ideas you could use with Yastrzemski. A Postseason flashback to his 1975 World Series home run, a retro finest for any of his amazing seasons, a milestone card for reaching 3000 hits, but I think there is one, very obvious season that if SDS got the rights to Yastrzemski, they would have to use.

That would be his 1967 Triple Crown campaign. During that year, he batted .326 with 44 home runs and 121 runs batted in. That Triple Crown season would stand until 2012, when Miguel Cabrera accomplished that feat. Yastrzemski also led the league in OBP, SLG%, total hits, runs scored, OPS+, and total bases. Plus, he walked (13.4%) way more often than he struck out (10.2).

Not only would you get a card with 120+ contact and power, along with over 100 plate vision and discipline, but you’d also get one with great fielding. Yastrezmski had +23 total zone runs, along with 13 outfield assists. That easily constitutes 95+ fielding/reaction and arm strength. Although he wouldn’t play more first base until later in his career, he’d probably get a secondary position of 1B. Speed would not be his biggest strength, and he would likely sit around 65-70 with low stealing.

Yastrzemski could be what Babe Ruth was to MLB The Show 18 or Willie Mays was to 19. They could introduce him as the big Collection reward and one of the biggest additions to the new game as a whole. I could see him having similar stats to Sammy Sosa’s MVP card but with more plate vision and less speed/stealing.