BOSTON — There are not many figures in baseball that take the breath away from Bob Melvin, a 40-year veteran of the game who has seen it all and can consider most anyone from the modern era a peer, having shared the field with them in some capacity, either as a player or a manager, on his side or against them.
Then, a couple hours before the first pitch of their series finale against the Red Sox on Thursday, one of them walked into his office.
It was Carl Yastrzemski, the first-ballot Hall of Famer, 3,000-hit club member, 18-time All-Star — and grandfather of the Giants’ right fielder, Mike Yastrzemski.
“I really didn’t have much to say,” Melvin said from his perch in the third-base dugout a little while later, “because I was in awe.”
The eldest living member of the Yastrzemski clan, 84, doesn’t make many visits anymore to Fenway Park, the stadium he called home for 23 seasons, from 1961 to 1983, where he collected 1,822 of his 3,419 career hits, the ninth-most all-time. Even as a player, he preferred to stay out of the spotlight.
But this week provided a special occasion: only the second time in his grandson’s career that Mike would toe the same turf at the 112-year-old ballpark. The last time the Yastrzemski lineage was at Fenway, Mike was only a rookie; he caught a ceremonial first pitch from Carl.
Now in his fifth season — and a father of two, himself — the active Yastrzemski was at his locker in the cramped quarters the visitors call a clubhouse when a Red Sox staffer approached him at about 10:45 a.m. local time. A special visitor was en route, about 15 minutes away. Would Mike prefer to host him in the clubhouse or the batting cages?
“I was hoping he would come out here,” Melvin said.
Even the manager pesters his right fielder for stories of his famous grandfather, he admitted.
When it came time to ask the old man himself, Melvin was at a loss for words.
“I just asked him how he’s doing, what are his thoughts on the team,” he said. “Stuff like that.”
The visit was a rare occurrence and didn’t last long.
Escorted by a team staffer, Carl Yastrzemski shuffled into the clubhouse without fanfare. Hunched over, he made the short walk across the room to the office of the clubhouse manager, where he holed up with his grandson and a few club employees.
“I think he left the car running while he was in here,” Mike Yastrzemski joked of the meeting which he estimated lasted maybe 10 minutes.
As for the topic of conversation, it was “literally nothing about baseball,” Yastrzemski said. He sees “Papa Yaz” once or twice a year, and their interactions mostly revolve around his two great-grandchildren.
“I think it’s one of the things that he’s done incredibly well as a grandfather and is letting me have my career,” Yastrzemski continued. “He’ll pick up the phone when I call him. If I ask him questions, he’ll answer. But he’s never forcing anything on me or suggesting anything.
“He’s always told me, when in doubt, talk to your hitting coaches.”
Then the living legend made his way to Melvin’s quarters, where he spent another 5 minutes or so.
And just like that, he was gone.
“To experience that in the clubhouse and so forth, there’s certain guys that get your attention more than others and certainly here at Fenway Park he’s about as good as it gets,” Melvin said. “I appreciate Mike bringing him in.”
Growing up, Carl would grill a young Mike about his batting stance at the dinner table, and he continues to take an active interest in his grandson’s career. The Giants have had 22 players elected to Cooperstown wear their uniform, but they can count at least one more among their fans.
Watching games on television from across the country, Carl Yastrzemski told Melvin he saw the same frustrating things the manager did during the team’s inconsistent start to the season. After Thursday’s 3-1 win at Fenway, the Giants will take a 15-17 record into Friday’s series opener in Philadelphia.
“He thinks that it’s a long season, and it’s probably similar to the sentiment we’ve been talking about here for a little while, too,” Melvin said. “We have good players, and it’s going to work its way out. Don’t get too caught up in the day-to-day, it’s a long season.”
Notable
Randy Rodriguez, a right-handed reliever, was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento and took the roster spot of Daulton Jefferies, who was optioned after allowing four runs over 2⅔ innings in Wednesday’s 6-2 loss. Rodriguez, 24, will be the fifth rookie to make his major-league debut in the Giants bullpen this season. He had a 1.69 ERA with 10 strikeouts and four walks while limiting opponents to a .184 batting average through his first 10 appearances at Sacramento.
