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Giants ‘could’ do something special for Mike Yastrzemski at Fenway

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Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports


Bruce Bochy didn’t want to look that far ahead, cautioning they will talk about it as the series approaches.

But asked if there’s a chance the Giants will put Mike Yastrzemski in left field at Fenway Park — the same green in front of the Green Monster his Hall of Fame grandfather patrolled for the majority of his 23-year career — Bochy smiled.

“It could happen,” he told KNBR this weekend, two weeks before the Giants travel to Boston. “I look forward to the time we’re going to have there with Yaz and how excited the fans will be.”

Wherever Yastrzemski plays, it will be a nice moment to cap off a breakout season that he wasn’t sure would ever come. Carl Yastrzemski’s grandson had muddled in the Orioles organization since 2013, seeing time at Triple-A from 2016-18 but never getting that last promotion. It finally came in San Francisco, which traded for him in March, Yastrzemski debuting in late May and emerging quickly as a part of the team’s future.

The 29-year-old rookie has hit 18 home runs in 84 games, slashing .266/.319/.528 and playing an excellent right field. He can move all around the outfield, though.

“I haven’t heard [about left field at Fenway]. I think it’ll just depend on what we have for guys and who’s pitching. If it happens, great, if not, I’m not worried about it,” said Yastrzemski, a Massachusetts native who was not as worried about the position as the park’s location.

“Just being there will mean something. Being able to step on that field in front of so many friends and family is really what you dream of doing from Day One. It’s great to come up here and to be in the big leagues and go one step further, to play at home in front of your family is the only way to make it better.”

Carl Yastrezmski was a seven-time Gold Glover, mastering the art of how to play balls off the left-field wall. When Mike plays in the same outfield, Boston can once again cheer a Yastrzemski. The Red Sox fans who do applaud him won’t be alone.

“I’ve made it clear [to my family] I don’t have enough tickets to cover everybody,” Yastrzemski said. “They’ve been awesome about it. I’ve got a cousin who headed the buying bandwagon.”