Mike Yastrzemski quietly said goodbye to baseball this week.

His exit came without fanfare and without much media attention. The son of former Boston Red Sox star Carl Yastrzemski emptied his locker Monday and left the Vancouver Canadiens, saying the dream just wasn’t worth the price anymore.

Yastrzemski, 26, a former Cardinal Gibbons High standout, gave up the dream his father had lived, saying he has no regrets. He leaves pro baseball understanding that for every dream that comes true, a hundred don’t. He says he has another dream.

Yastrzemski, who was married a year and a half ago, became a partner last October in the Ben Litowich and Sons Co., a produce brokerage in Pompano Beach. He looks at it as a chance for a normal life.

“It wasn’t a snap decision,” Yastrzemski said. “After I got into the business last October I began thinking about leaving baseball. I went to spring training with some doubts. I wasn’t mentally ready to play.”

Carl Yastrzemski wasn’t disappointed in his son’s decision. As a matter of fact, Mike said, Carl tried to persuade Mike to leave the game earlier.

“My dad and I were talking last winter,” Mike said. “He was disappointed I even went to spring training.

“He said if he had the business opportunity I had and was in my situation, he wouldn’t go back to baseball. I wanted to give it one more shot, but I wasn’t mentally into it.”

Yastrzemski slumped this season. He was hitting .211 with 2 homers and 21 RBI when he retired. He was hitting .185 in his last eight games and had been benched.

Yastrzemski had one of his best years in his five-year minor league career last year. He hit .292 with 6 homers and 52 RBI in 115 games for Hawaii, the White Sox Triple-A affiliate, last year.

“I’m not sad about leaving,” Yastrzemski said. “I never had great talent. I didn’t have a great arm or great speed or great power. I made myself a ballplayer. I’ve gone as far as I can go and worked my butt off to get there. I’m excited about a new challenge.”

Yastrzemski said his wife and father are also excited.

“I’m going to have a stable life for the first time in my entire life,” Yastrzemski said. “I’ve been moving around for 25 or 26 years. In spring, I was going down to spring training with my dad. When the season started, I went north again. I was changing schools and moving around a lot.

“I’ve been living the dream ever since I was a child. My dad said, ‘Hey, you’ve got a beautiful wife, a good business opportunity. Make something of that.’

“I think my dad could see the things about baseball that can mess up your life. He missed a lot with his wife and kids because he was always traveling and has some regrets about that.”

Mike and his wife, Anne-Marie, are planning to move to the south Palm Beach- north Broward area.

“My wife isn’t too much of a baseball fan,” Yastrzemski said. “As a matter of fact, I think she hates it.

“She wasn’t really happy. She has a degree in marketing, but she hasn’t had a chance to use it. She’s given up her ambitions for me. Now she’ll have a chance to fulfill that part of her life. She never said much about that, but I knew something was missing for her.”

Yastrzemski said he plans on diverting his energy to helping his new business flourish but would also like to get involved in coaching in the Broward area.

“I’d like to help kids enjoy the game and let them know there’s more to life than baseball,” he said.