Page 35 - 1975 BoSox

28 ’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL
Despite his excellent play (.313 with two home runs) in 14 games with Boston at the end of the 1971 season, Fisk was tagged as the third-string catcher for the Red Sox in 1972. e starter was Duane Josephson, who had batted .245 with 10 home runs in 1971 after coming to Boston in a trade with the White Sox; Bob Montgomery was the backup. But when Josephson was injured in the third game of the season Fisk was inserted into the Boston lineup as the starting catcher.
From the start, Carlton was a slugger. By June 13 the 24-year-old rookie had collected 32 hits, 20 for extra bases. His average was .278 and his slugging percentage was .574. His con dence rose with his slugging percent- age, which stood at .629 by July 12, and he was begin- ning to attract attention. “Fisk is rapidly gaining the reputation of being the Johnny Bench of the American League,” wrote Larry Cla in.11 In July Orioles manager Earl Weaver selected him for the American League team in the All-Star Game. Fisk replaced Bill Freehan in the sixth inning, suddenly nding himself playing against Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, whose bubble- gum cards he’d collected back in Charlestown. For the 1972 season, Fisk caught 131 games and batted .293 with 22 home runs. His accomplishments earned him selection as the American League’s Rookie of the Year, the rst player ever to receive the honor by a unani- mous vote. He also won the Gold Glove for AL catchers and nished fourth in balloting for the AL’s Most Valuable Player. e Red Sox had fallen just a half-game short of the pennant. In a testament to the times, Pudge’s salary reportedly rose from $18,000 to $30,000, which, according to Cla in, was “as big a pay raise as any player in the game.”12
e Red Sox had been searching for a quality receiver ever since the Birdie Tebbetts/Sammy White era of 1947-59, trying such notables as Bob Tillman, “ e Immortal” Joe Azcue, Tom Satriano, Russ Gibson, Mike Ryan, and others. In Fisk they nally had a tough, productive, intelligent, and dependable backstop with an unmatched desire to win. In fact often Pudge would even yell at his own pitchers to motivate them. He encouraged them to throw inside to the opposing batters, increasing his hurlers’ e ectiveness, but it also
served to escalate the intensity with the opposition. “If you play against him you hate him,” said manager Eddie Kasko, “but if you play with him and want to win, you love him. He plays as if he were on the Crusades.”13
Fisk’s tenacious aggressive style of play helped pro- duced wins for the team, but created minor skirmishes with the opposition. Collisions and run-ins with urman Munson, Alan Gallagher of the Angels, Frank Robinson, and the prickly Graig Nettles helped create a reputation as an unpopular player in the league. Emotion on the diamond seemed to de ne Fisk, in contrastwithhisNewYorkrival,Munson.Inamuch- recounted incident with Munson, the two adversaries came to blows at Fenway Park on August 1, 1973. In the top of the ninth, with the score tied 2-2, Gene Michael whi ed on a suicide squeeze. Fisk elbowed the loitering Michael out of the way, and then took on Munson, who was bulldozing his way toward the plate. Fisk held on to the ball, but Munson continued to lie on top of Fisk to allow Felipe Alou to advance to second base. As Fisk pushed Munson o , Michael grabbed Fisk, who threw the scrawny Stick to the ground. Said Yankee manager Ralph Houk, “Fisk had his left arm right across Stick’s throat and wouldn’t let up. Michael couldn’t breathe. I had to crawl un- derneath the pile to try to pry Fisk’s arm o his throat to keep him from killing Stick. All the while he had Michael pinned down, he was punching Munson underneath the pile. I had no idea Fisk was that strong, but he was scary.”14
At times, Fisk’s on- eld intensity would get him into trouble beyond the foul lines. At an autograph session in Spring eld, Massachusetts, Fisk reportedly criti- cized teammates Carl Yastrzemski and Reggie Smith for not hustling and failing to show proper leadership. e outburst prompted a typical Red Sox intrasquad war of words, which Pudge eventually ended by ex- plaining that he “never meant to say anything against them personally.” Even early on, for Pudge, perceived lack of hustle was blasphemous and inexcusable, and his comments were not out of character for someone whose desire to win as great as his.