Carl Yastrzemski signed out of Notre Dame in 1958. He then tore up the minor leagues; he hit .377 in Raleigh (it would be A ball) and .339 in AAA Minneapolis. Promoted to Boston the following season, he had the unenviable task of replacing Ted Williams as the left fielder.
His first couple of seasons weren't dismal but they weren't what would come to be expected of him. He found himself as a ballplayer in 1963, hitting .321 that year. He played for some awful teams in those early years--the 1965 team lost 100 games--but he's credited with reviving baseball in New England. The first winning team that he played for was the 1967 team. In '67 he missed one game and would eventually win the MVP and the Triple Crown (he hit .326 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI). He won seven gold gloves and made eighteen All Star appearances. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 1989.
And not too many people get a song written about them.
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