arl Yastrzemski was to the All-Star Game what Tip O'Neill was to the House of Representatives - a constant contributor from Massachusetts, always seen, and sometimes the best player in the game.
Yaz played 23 seasons for the Red Sox, was selected to 18 All-Star teams, and appeared in 14 All-Star Games. Ever a presence, Yaz wasn't exactly a good luck charm for the American League. The Junior Circuit lost 16 of the 18 games to which Yastrzemski was invited.
''It got to be old news, us losing that game,'' he remembers. ''In those years, the National League probably had better individual players and I think we had better, more well-rounded teams.''
Yaz is this year's honorary chairman of the monstrous, five-day FanFest that continues through Tuesday at the Hynes Convention Center, and despite all the defeats, he lays claim to a couple of big All-Star moments.
Perhaps the most famous All-Star play of all-time occurred when Cincinnati Red Pete Rose crashed into Cleveland catcher Ray Fosse to score the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning at Riverfront Stadium in 1970. It is the defining moment of the midsummer classic, typifying why the NL dominated the game for two decades.
But who was the MVP of the Rose-Fosse game?
Yaz.
Playing first base and center field, Captain Carl went 4 for 6 and knocked in a run in the defeat. In the proud tradition of Sox All-Star Republican outfielders, he gave his MVP trophy to President Richard Nixon.
Nixon attended the game and posed for pictures with rival managers Earl Weaver and Gil Hodges before the game.
''I played three different positions that night,'' remembers Yastrzemski. ''I started in left, then moved over to center, and ended up at first base.
''Today that [MVP] trophy is in Nixon's Presidential Library. Starting with President Kennedy, I gave all the presidents a trophy. I went to the White House to give Nixon that trophy, and he was a big baseball fan. He was thrilled. I remember him getting up from behind his desk and he picked up a chair and said, `Sit down, let's talk a little baseball.'
''After the '67 season, I'd been to the White House to give President Johnson the grecian bowl I won as Sports Illustrated's Athlete of the Year. It was Johnson's last day in the White House, and my kids and I spent almost the whole day with him. He was moving stuff out, but he was just great to be with.''
In 14 All-Star Games, Yaz hit .294 (10 for 34) with two doubles and five RBIs.
Yaz never had tremendous recall of his own career. He is constantly amazed at the precise recollections of devout Sox fans who can recite more of his deeds than he can.
''Heck, I don't remember yesterday,'' he acknowledges. ''My first one was in Cleveland, and the only thing I remember is that there was a big to-do about Stan Musial, who was retiring that year. It was a big thrill being there because Musial was one of my idols.''
Yaz would go on to win his first batting title in 1963, but he was 0 for 2 in the All-Star Game. He was not selected in '64, and skipped it because of a groin pull in '65. He made the team again in '66, but manager Sam Mele kept him on the shelf at the new Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
''All I remember about that day is that it was about 130 degrees and during batting practice we wore pieces of cabbage under our hats to stay cool.''
The 1967 season was Yastrzemski's coming-out as an American League star. En route to a Triple Crown, MVP season that would be capped by his first World Series, Yaz went 3 for 4 at the All-Star Game in Anaheim.
''I played the whole game, 15 innings,'' he said. ''I walked a couple of times. The thing I remember about that game is that we had four Red Sox there, and Tony Conigliaro and Rico Petrocelli and myself all started. Jim Lonborg had pitched Sunday, so he didn't pitch in the All-Star Game, but to have four Red Sox players there gave us a lot of confidence as far as the pennant race was concerned. It made us feel legitimate.''
He remembers making a couple of nice catches at the 1969 game in Washington, one robbing Johnny Bench of a homer. Then came his MVP performance with a losing team in '70.
Yaz was there in 1971 in Detroit when the AL snapped its eight-game losing streak. This was the game in which six Hall of Famers homered: Reggie Jackson, Harmon Killebrew, Frank Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Bench, and Hank Aaron. Jackson's mammoth blast off Dock Ellis became instant baseball folklore.
Boston's warhorse captain hit his only All-Star homer, a three-run, pinch-hit blast off Tom Seaver, in a 6-3 loss in Milwaukee in 1975.
''The thing I remember about that is getting pissed because Al Dark was the manager and he didn't put me in left field after the homer,'' Yaz said. ''The game was tied, 3-3, but we lost when the left fielder [Claudell Washington, playing on the orders of Oakland owner Charlie Finley] screwed up a ball in the ninth and they scored three runs. Haywood Sullivan came up to me after and told me I kept the TV audience watching a little longer.''
In 1977, seven Red Sox were named to the team: Yastrzemski, Rick Burleson, Bill Campbell, Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, and George Scott. The Red Sox had more stars than any team in baseball.
''I know we hit a lot of home runs, but we didn't win anything,'' said Yastrzemski.
Because of an injury, he was replaced by teammate Dwight Evans in 1978. Then he came back to go 2 for 3 in the '79 game at the Kingdome.
''All I remember about Seattle is that I probably didn't want to go because it was such a long plane flight,'' he said.
There would only be two more All-Star chances, but no more hits. He pinch hit in the 1982 loss in Montreal, then again in '83 when the AL broke out with a 13-3 win at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
''I remember Montreal because Pete Rose and I were both hitting like .340 and they flew us in there early for a cover shot for Sports Illustrated, and Time was mad because they were doing the same story and it was supposed to go on their cover.
''I knew '83 was the last one. I had a lot of mixed emotions. I had told Ralph Houk that I might not retire because we were in the race and I was still hitting. But then we dropped out of the race quickly in the second half and I knew that was it for me.''
Along with Don Drysdale, Yastrzemski served as his league's honorary captain in 1989, and this time he brought some luck in the form of a 5-2 victory at Anaheim.
''I always had kind of mixed feelings about the All-Star Game,'' he said. ''I wanted the time off because in baseball you need that mental break in the middle. I never got tired physically, but I liked to do something different for a few days. Still, when I'd get there and be on the field, I wanted to be the best player.''
Carl Yazrtzemski was named an All-Star 18 times. (Globe file photo)