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Red Sox To Honor Carl Yastrzemski With Statue At Fenway Park

BOSTON (CBS) - Carl Yastrzemski gave the Boston Red Sox 23 amazing years during his career, and now "Yaz" will be forever immortalized outside Fenway Park.

The Red Sox announced Wednesday that they will pay tribute to Yastrzemski by creating and unveiling a statue of the legendary left fielder.

"This is quite an honor," Yastrzemski said in the release. "To have a bronze statue at Fenway Park is something I never could have imagined, and I am very grateful to the Red Sox for this kind gesture."

The statue will capture the moment when Yaz tipped his helmet to Red Sox fans prior to his final at-bat on October 2, 1983.

The statue, the third the Red Sox have created, will stand outside the Gate B entrance between the Ted Williams statue and "The Teammates" statue, depicting Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr, and Williams.

The dedication ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, September 22, at 11 a.m., prior to the 1:35 p.m. game against the Toronto Blue Jays.  Yastrzemski is scheduled to throw out the Ceremonial First Pitch before the game.

In his 23-year  career, Yastrzemski hit 452 career home runs, scored 1,816 runs, drove in 1,844 runs, won seven Gold Gloves awards, and was named to 18-time All-Star teams. He also won the Triple Crown in 1967, leading the "Impossible Dream" Red Sox to the American League Championship in 1967.

Toby Mendez, the creator of "The Teammates" statue, will sculpt the Yaz statue as well.

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