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The 1970s saw a record seven MLB players reach the magical 3,000-hit mark, starting with Hank Aaron in May 1970 and concluding with Carl Yastrzemski in September 1979 (the others being Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Al Kaline, Pete Rose, and Lou Brock). Among this sterling seven, only Kaline and Yastrzemski hailed from the AL, serving as the respective franchise faces for the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox over their lengthy careers. There are deep similarities between the two players – each was an outfielder, each was both an excellent hitter and fielder, each played 20+ years, and each was a first-ballot Hall of Famer. With their careers overlapping for more than a dozen years, it is natural to ask the question:
Who was better – Al Kaline or Carl Yastrzemski?
The Beginning
Kaline and Yastrzemski were each multi-sport stars growing up and upon signing with major league baseball teams, would quickly establish themselves in the big leagues.
Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Kaline played basketball, football, and baseball in high school, earning All-State honors in baseball (he was originally a pitcher growing up before moving to the outfield). Immediately after graduating from high school, he was signed by the Tigers, who had scouted him for a number of years, and made his major league debut at age 18 in 1953, playing a total of 30 games. During Kaline’s first full season in 1954, he hit .276 with 4 home runs, 43 runs batted in, 43 runs scored, a .305 on-base percentage, and a .347 slugging percentage, good for an 80 OPS+ (which measures on-base percentage plus slugging vs. a league-wide average set at 100) and a third-place Rookie of the Year finish.
As for Yastrzemski, he grew up on Long Island, New York, and played both basketball and baseball in high school; interestingly, he broke Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown’s Long Island high school scoring record in basketball. Based on his two-sport prowess, Yastrzemski went to Notre Dame on a split basketball/baseball scholarship, but left after his freshman year to sign with the Red Sox in 1958. Following a few seasons in Boston’s farm system, he was called up to the big leagues in 1961 to essentially replace the legendary Ted Williams and hit .266 with 11 home runs, 80 runs batted in, 71 runs scored, a .324 on-base percentage, and a .396 slugging percentage (91 OPS+).
Career Comparison
In the pre-free agency era, Kaline and Yastrzemski both played their entire careers with one team (Tigers and Red Sox, respectively) and were among the stars of the late 1950s and 1960s, ultimately cementing their legacies as among the era’s greatest players.
In just his second full MLB season in 1955, Kaline won his only batting title with a .340 batting average, a league-high and career-best 200 hits, 27 home runs, 102 runs batted in, career-high 121 runs scored, a career-best .421 on-base percentage, and a .546 slugging percentage (162 OPS+); in the process, he became the first 20-year-old to win a batting title since another Tigers legend Ty Cobb did it at the turn of the 20th century. Additionally, Kaline earned his first All-Star appearance (he would be an All-Star every year through 1967, and 18x overall) and finished second for AL MVP to Yogi Berra. The next year, he hit .314 with 27 home runs, a career-high 128 runs batted in, 96 runs scored, a .383 on-base percentage, and a .530 slugging percentage, good for a 139 OPS+, this time finishing third for MVP to Yankees teammates Mickey Mantle and Berra. In addition to being a consistent .280 to .300 slugger year in and year out, Kaline was also a terrific defensive outfielder, winning his first Gold Glove in 1957 and a total of 10 over the next 11 seasons.
As the 1960s rolled around, Kaline continued to be one of the premier players in baseball. During the 1961 season, he finished second to teammate Norm Cash for the batting title, hitting .324 with a league-high 41 doubles, 19 home runs, 82 runs batted in, 116 runs scored, a .393 on-base percentage, and a .515 slugging percentage (138 OPS+) to finish ninth for MVP. One year later, Kaline was on pace for perhaps a career year, but ended up only playing in 100 games due to injury; nevertheless, he still managed to bat .304 with a career-high 29 home runs, 94 runs batted in, 78 runs scored, a .376 on-base percentage, and a career-high .593 slugging percentage for a 152 OPS+ and a sixth-place MVP finish. He nearly won the MVP in 1963, again finishing second (this time to Elston Howard) on the strength of a .312 batting average, 27 home runs, 101 runs batted in, 89 runs scored, a .375 on-base percentage, and a .514 slugging percentage (144 OPS+). To cap off his prime years, Kaline managed his final top-five MVP finish and last Gold Glove in 1967: .308 batting average with 25 home runs, 78 runs batted in, 94 runs scored, a .411 on-base percentage, and a .541 slugging percentage, good for a career-best 176 OPS+.
Entering his mid-30s, Kaline remained an effective player who consistently hit in the .270 to .290 range, but was not quite the superstar of old. After another All-Star season in 1971 (.294 with 15 home runs, 54 runs batted in, 69 runs scored, a .416 on-base percentage, and a .462 slugging percentage for a 144 OPS+), he made his final All-Star Game in 1974 at age 39, though only hit .262 overall for the season. Late in the season, Kaline became just the 12th player in MLB history to reach 3,000 career hits before retiring at season’s end; to this day, he remains the Tigers’ career record-holder for games played, home runs,, and walks (the majority of the team’s hitting records are held by Cobb).
Similarly for Yastrzemski, he had a good sophomore campaign before breaking out in 1963 to win his first batting title: a .321 batting average with a league-high 183 hits and 40 doubles, 14 home runs, 68 runs batted in, 91 runs scored, a league-leading .418 on-base percentage (also led the league in walks), and a .475 slugging percentage (148 OPS+). In addition to a sixth-place finish for AL MVP, this would also mark the first of 18 All-Star Games and seven Gold Gloves; in fact, starting in 1965, he was an All-Star for 15 straight years, consistently hitting above .280 in the mid-1960s and leading the league in doubles in three of four years. The highlight was Yastrzemski’s unforgettable 1967 season – with a .326 batting average, 44 home runs, 121 runs batted in, 112 runs scored, a .418 on-base percentage, and a .622 slugging percentage (193 OPS+), he not only won his second batting title and led the league in nearly every hitting category while setting numerous career-best marks, but also won AL MVP, another Gold Glove, and the rare and coveted Triple Crown (while Frank Robinson also won the Triple Crown the previous year, it would not happen again until Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and has not happened in the NL since 1937). Moreover, the 12.5 WAR Yastrzemski produced in 1967 is the third-highest single-season mark ever for a position player, surpassed only by Babe Ruth.
Coming off this magical season, Yastrzemski won his third and final batting title in 1968, though his numbers were down significantly: .301 batting average with 23 home runs, 74 runs batted in, 90 runs scored, a league-high .426 on-base percentage (bolstered by a league-leading 119 walks), and a .495 slugging percentage for a 171 OPS+ and a ninth-place MVP finish; note that this was the famous “Year of the Pitcher” before the pitcher’s mound was lowered and thus, the .301 mark is the lowest-ever for a batting champion. This was followed by consecutive seasons with 40 home runs:
- 1969: only a .255 batting average, but with 40 home runs, 111 runs batted in, 96 runs scored, a .362 on-base percentage, and a .507 slugging percentage (136 OPS+); won another Gold Glove
- 1970: a career-high .329 batting average (though did not win the batting title), 40 home runs, 102 runs batted in, a league-leading and career-best 125 runs scored, a league-high and career-high .452 on-base percentage, and a .592 slugging percentage (177 OPS+); finished fourth for AL MVP
Due to hand and shoulder injuries as he entered his 30s, Yastrzemski was no longer the same dominant player in the 1970s as he was in the late 1960s, though remained an All-Star every year of the decade. However, he would only hit .300+ once, in 1974: .301 with 15 home runs, 79 runs batted in, a league-high 93 runs scored, a .414 on-base percentage, and a .445 slugging percentage (140 OPS+). Generally, Yastrzemski was more of a .250 to .270 hitter and his power and run production also waned, though he did manage back-to-back seasons with 20+ home runs and 100+ runs batted in during the mid-1970s (1976 – 21 home runs/102 runs batted in, 1977 – 28 home runs/102 runs batted in, plus a final Gold Glove). In 1979, he reached 3,000 career hits, thus becoming the first-ever AL player with 3,000 hits and 400 home runs. Ultimately, Yastrzemski played well into his 40s, earning two final All-Star selections before retiring after the 1983 season at age 44; his 23 seasons with the Red Sox matches Brooks Robinson for most years with one team and he is second all-time in baseball history for games played (most with one team), as well as Boston’s franchise leader for hits, doubles, runs batted in, runs scored, and total bases.
While Yastrzemski only played one more MLB season than Kaline (23 vs. 22), his better career durability results in nearly 500 additional games played and almost 2,000 additional at-bats. As a result, Yastrzemski has the advantage in essentially every major counting offensive category; however, the story is a bit more split when it comes to ratios and averages – while he also has the higher career on-base percentage, Kaline leads in career batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS+. Furthermore, in comparing “great” seasons, it is again a mixed story: Kaline hit .300+ more frequently (9x to 6x) and had more 20+ home run seasons (9x to 8x), whereas Yastrzemski leads in 40+ home run seasons (3x to none) and years with 100+ runs batted in (5x vs. 3x), and each scored 100+ runs twice. Both were 18x All-Stars – Yastrzemski was more acclaimed offensively with the MVP and Triple Crown in 1967 plus three batting titles (vs. one for Kaline), whereas Kaline was the better defensive outfielder (10 vs. 7 edge in Gold Gloves). All in all, when you capture all of this into one advanced metric, their career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) are very close, with Yastrzemski having the slight lead at 96.4 to 92.8 for Kaline. Post-retirement, both legends were first-ballot Hall of Fame inductees (1980 for Kaline and 1989 for Yastrzemski).
Regular Season Statistics
| Al Kaline | Player | Carl Yastrzemski |
| 22 (1953-1974) | Seasons | 23 (1961-1983) |
| 2,834 | Games Played | 3,308 |
| 10,116 | At-Bats | 11,988 |
| 3,007 | Hits | 3,419 |
| 1,622 | Runs | 1,816 |
| 399 | Home Runs | 452 |
| 1,582 | Runs Batted In | 1,844 |
| 1,277 | Walks | 1,845 |
| 137 | Stolen Bases | 168 |
| .297 | Batting Average | .285 |
| .376 | On-Base Percentage | .379 |
| .480 | Slugging Percentage | .462 |
| 134 | OPS+ | 130 |
| 92.8 | Wins Above Replacement | 96.4 |
| 18x | All-Star Games | 18x |
| – | MVP | 1x |
| 1x | World Series Titles | – |
| 10x Gold Glove, 1x Batting Title | Other Awards | 1x Triple Crown, 7x Gold Glove, 3x Batting Title, 1x ML PoY |
| 1980 | Hall of Fame Induction | 1989 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Over 20+ MLB seasons apiece, Kaline and Yastrzemski each made only two playoff appearances; however, remember that until 1969, the AL and NL pennant winners met directly in the World Series.
Kaline’s first World Series appearance in 1968 came against Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals – in a seven-game victory, he was outstanding, batting .379 (11 hits in 29 at-bats) with 2 home runs, 8 runs batted in, and 6 runs scored. Four years later, with the expansion of the playoffs, he would hit .263 in a five-game ALCS loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Meanwhile, both of Yastrzemski’s World Series appearances resulted in heartbreaking losses. First, in 1967, despite his stellar individual play (.400 batting average on 10 hits in 25 at-bats with 3 home runs, 5 runs batted in, and 4 runs scored), the Red Sox would fall in seven games to the aforementioned Gibson and the Cardinals, with the star pitcher accounting for three of the four St. Louis victories. Almost a decade later, in 1975, Yastrzemski hit an incredible .455 in a sweep of the Athletics in the ALCS and then, batted .310 in the World Series, but Boston would again lose in the full seven games, this time to the Cincinnati Reds and their “Big Red Machine” offense led by Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, and Joe Morgan.
Playoff Statistics
| Al Kaline | Player | Carl Yastrzemski |
| 12 | Games Played | 17 |
| 48 | At-Bats | 65 |
| 16 | Hits | 24 |
| 9 | Runs | 15 |
| 3 | Home Runs | 4 |
| 9 | Runs Batted In | 11 |
| 2 | Walks | 9 |
| – | Stolen Bases | – |
| .333 | Batting Average | .369 |
| .373 | On-Base Percentage | .447 |
| .563 | Slugging Percentage | .600 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; after quickly becoming stars, both Kaline and Yastrzemski slowed down in their 30s and 40s, though still remained productive All-Star-level players. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Al Kaline | Player | Carl Yastrzemski |
| 1955-1959, 1961-1963, 1966-1967 | Decade of Dominance | 1963, 1965-1970, 1973-1974, 1977 |
| 1,407 | Games Played | 1,535 |
| 5,308 | At-Bats | 5,558 |
| 1,663 | Hits | 1,673 |
| 931 | Runs | 947 |
| 249 | Home Runs | 259 |
| 942 | Runs Batted In | 904 |
| 652 | Walks | 970 |
| 78 | Stolen Bases | 116 |
| .313 | Batting Average | .301 |
| .388 | On-Base Percentage | .403 |
| .525 | Slugging Percentage | .508 |
| 64.1 | Wins Above Replacement | 69.4 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Kaline and Yastrzemski are relatively evenly matched over their respective decades of dominance – with more games played, the latter has slightly higher counting numbers, but the former has a better batting average and slugging percentage; in terms of WAR, Yastrzemski retains the advantage, largely helped by the 12.5 WAR in his Triple Crown season (Kaline’s highest single-season mark was 8.4 in 1961).
My Thoughts
Before baseball free agency took root in the 1970s, you could easily associate most teams in the 1950s and 1960s with a specific player, e.g. Aaron – Braves, Mays – Giants, Mantle – Yankees, Clemente – Pirates, etc. For the Tigers and Red Sox, respectively, Al Kaline and Carl Yastrzemski were those franchise faces, faithfully carrying the torch for their teams for over two decades each. It is a testament to each player’s greatness and durability that their career totals are so prolific and so comparable (both regular season and playoffs), so who do I give the edge to? While Yastrzemski certainly had the more dominant peak, in particularly in the late 1960s when he won the Triple Crown with arguably the greatest offensive season in modern times and posted two other 40+ home run seasons, I think Kaline was the more consistent standout – he was the better overall hitter statistically with less season-to-season variance (higher overall batting average and consistently in the .290 to .300+ range, higher career OPS+, etc.), a better defensive outfielder with 10 Gold Gloves, and for what it is worth, was clutch in helping Detroit to the 1968 World Series.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Al Kaline
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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