This post was originally published on 6 March 2000 while I wrote for WISN (Worldwide Internet Sports Network. It was my last article for them. (I believe several articles are still “missing” and if found, I will add them to this platform.)
Etched forever in my mind is the clear, vivid memory of number 72 lumbering out to the pitcher’s mound, after arriving, his gloved left hand would be folded on his hip as he imparted wisdom to whoever was pitching that day. Carlton Ernest “Pudge” Fisk, the Commander, had 11 very productive seasons with the Boston Red Sox, when he was signed in 1981 as a free agent by my hometown Chicago White Sox. He was already one of my favorites and my catching role model. He spent 13 seasons with the White Sox, setting the major league records of most home runs by a catcher with 351 and most games caught with 2,226, before being unceremoniously released by the White Sox while on a road trip in Cleveland.
Fisk worked slowly behind the plate, Bobby Valentine, the New York Mets manager once said that he played like he was being paid by the hour. He was a true professional who was respected by his peers and on Tuesday the 11th of January 2000 became the 13th catcher to be elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame, putting a fitting exclamation point on his 24 year career.
If asked, most people would recall the “body English” home run in Game 6, in the bottom of the 12th inning of the 1975 World Series, when he willed the ball fair. But he was much more than a “one-hit” wonder. He won both the 1972 Rookie of the Year Award and a Gold Glove. Fisk had a lifetime batting average of .269, while amassing 2,356 hits, 1,276 runs, 1,330 RBIs and 376 career home runs. He was also chosen 11 times for the American League All-Star team. Large for his position at 6’2” and 200lbs, he was durable, strong-armed and considered an outstanding handler of pitchers.
I won’t beat around the bush; Carlton Fisk was the catcher I tried to emulate. He was one of my baseball heroes. I found that although I couldn’t achieve the level of playing success he had, I could bring to my game the same determination, single-mindedness and pride which he always brought to the ballpark. Carlton was always in shape, mentally and physically to play. He would arrive early, play the game and be there hours afterwards working out in the weight / training room to keep his battered body in peak condition to survive the next game, the next season, adding years to his career!
Fisk was a baseball dinosaur. He came up during a time when the game mattered to the players, not the money or the fame. He played the game the right way, the old school way. He once chastised Dion Sanders of the Yankees, the opposing team for not running out a lazy fly ball. Sanders immediately made it into a “racial issue”, but it was a “baseball issue”. Fisk saw a young player with talent playing the game incorrectly; neither respecting the game nor the uniform he was wearing. It was an affront to him and the game he loved, it was not something that he could let pass.
I had the good fortune to watch this man work his trade. He improved young pitching staffs, worked with some of the game’s best pitchers finishing out their careers and was the marquee player on some very good and incredibly bad White Sox teams through the years. He was always the same, working slowly, deliberately; doing what he had to do to achieve victory. There were many afternoons and evenings that I was at Comiskey Park, both old and new, watching Fisk tag out two runners at the plate on the same play, catching extra inning ball games, getting game winning hits or simply moving a runner into scoring position by hitting behind them. I was also there to cheer him on Carlton Fisk Night at Comiskey when his teammates and the fans, prior to him breaking the all time record of most games caught, honoured him. It was the last game of his career; unfortunately, it was not his decision.
Carlton Fisk was a catcher and took great pride in playing his position. As a fan, I took pride in the fact that he played for and finished his outstanding career here in Chicago. He respected the game he loved and I idolized and cheered him for this. On the 23rd of July, I hope to be on hand in Cooperstown, New York to cheer for him again! Congratulations Pudge and thanks!
~ Coach Mike
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Cooperstown Bound
OMG 🤩 Carlton Fisk is my favorite ‼️ I loved watching him play ⚾️ You bring back such wonderful memories. I really enjoy your outstanding posts. Please keep ‘em coming🙏
COACH MIKE -GREAT PIECE - Fisk was truly an ALLSTAR. Nice of you to remember these wond erful ball players from the past!!!