Just like Mickey Mantle had unbearable pressure to live up to Joe DiMaggio, Carl Yastrzemski had to fill Ted Williams’ cleats when he arrived in Fenway Park in 1961. And, like Mantle, the hype surrounding Yaz’s arrival in the majors was immense. In his first a-bat on Opening Day, Yaz rapped out a single, but was thrown out trying to steal second. He would go on to post solid numbers that rookie season, .266 with 11 homers, but nothing compared to what he would eventually do during his 23-year Hall of Fame career.

While there are Yastrzemski game used bats in the hobby, this bat dates to Yastrzemski’s rookie summer. The Hillerich & Bradsby W215 model bat shows great game use. There are many ball marks and scuffs found on the barrel along with checking from repeated ball contact. Bat rack paint streaks and cleat imprints can be found on all sides and a there is a ½” dent in the surface just above and to the right of the “GENUINE” on the barrel. The handle has a coat of pine tar applied and the model number “W215” is stamped into the knob. As a Hall of Fame rookie bat, this is a tremendous piece of baseball and Red Sox history. This bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (G55696) for the game use and has been graded a solid GU 8.

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