Yaz

BALTIMORE — Mention Carl Yastrzemski, and if Jerry Remy is within earshot he’ll join the conversation. And he’ll get emotional on the subject of his friend and former teammate.

“When he [retired] it was like a part of Red Sox history was gone forever,” Remy said yesterday. “It really was a weird feeling. It was emotional because you felt like a part of your childhood was gone. Think about what he accomplished. He wasn’t a big guy by today’s standard of players, even in his time. He wasn’t a big guy, but he could generate a lot of power.”

So Remy — and other members of the Red Sox family — were shaken by the news that Yastrzemski, who will be 69 on Friday, was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital on Monday after suffering chest pains. Yaz’s family issued a statement last night saying: “It was determined that he needed triple bypass surgery which was performed this afternoon. The surgery was a complete success and he is resting comfortably.”

Yastrzemski was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, in 1989. He played 23 seasons for the Red Sox, from 1961 to 1983, and finished his career with 3,419 hits and 452 home runs. Yaz won the Triple Crown — leading the league in home runs, runs batted in and batting average — in 1967, the last player in history to accomplish the feat, and was named American League Most Valuable Player for leading the Red Sox to the “Impossible Dream” pennant that year. He won two other batting titles, in 1963 and ’68, and was awarded seven Gold Gloves for fielding excellence in left field. He played in 18 All-Star Games.

“Until the day he retired, he wanted to be the best,” said Remy, who played for the Red Sox with Yastrzemski from 1978-83. “Near the end of his career, Remy added, Yaz “was a DH and would spend hours and hours hitting. … He was a fierce competitor.

“I don’t think he was the most talented of all the Hall of Famers, but he would certainly outwork them.”

Remy recalls Yaz’s last weekend at Fenway in 1983, when he used a different bat for every plate appearance and then gave each of his teammates a bat at the end of the season.

“The thing I’ll remember most about Yaz was the ’78 playoff game,” added Remy. “We lost and my locker was right next to his, and he was crying like a little baby after that game because he had never won a championship. He knew he was getting close to the end of his career.”

Yaz’s career changed during the 1967 “Impossible Dream” season. Yastrzemski’s heroics that year set a standard for Red Sox clutch hitting that many thought would be impossible to match … and they were, at least until David Ortiz arrived.

“I became a Red Sox fan because of that team,” said Remy, who grew up in Somerset. “He did everything for that club that year. When you think about the ‘Impossible Dream’ team, he’s the guy you think about.”

Also walking around the Red Sox clubhouse yesterday afternoon was Hall of Fame pitcher and current Orioles broadcaster Jim Palmer.

“He could run the bases and he could hit home runs,” recalled Palmer, who pitched against Yastrzemski from 1965-83. “He could hit for average. He could hit your best pitch and your worst pitch. Until late in his career, I don’t think we got him to swing at a bad pitch we threw. Obviously, he was a very tough out.”

Palmer said he had one goal when he faced Yaz: “To keep the ball in the ballpark. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t.”

Palmer held Yastrzemski to a .243 average in 169 at-bats from 1965 to ’83.Yaz hit four home runs in his career against Palmer.

jmcdonal@projo.com