Page 37 - 1975 BoSox

30 ’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL
to another 3-0 lead, and the Reds took the Series with a 4-3 victory. e Red Sox were once again denied their rst World Series championship since the 1918 fall classic.
Fisk was named to the AL All-Star team seven times during his tenure in Boston. During one pennant race when his team was battling the Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver said, “ e guy they’d hate to lose most, even more than Rice, is Fisk.”19 In determining Fisk’s importance, consider that in 1980 the Red Sox were 68-44 when he was behind the plate and 15-33 when he was not. Yet by 1981 Fisk was ques- tioning whether the Red Sox front o ce really wanted him. Contract negotiations proceeded slowly, when then-general manager Haywood Sullivan blundered by failing to mail his contract on time, rendering Fisk a free agent. Despite his stellar years, including hitting .289 in 131 games in 1980, Fisk began to sense that the Red Sox front o ce thought he was expendable.
For Fisk the soured contract talks seemed like more evidence that the Red Sox management’s commitment to win had wavered. Boston had traded Burleson and Butch Hobson to California in December, followed by Fred Lynn in January, and the team was o ering Fisk a contract renewal at less than market value. In Carlton’s mind, the e ort to win extended beyond the players on the diamond, commitment to excellence was a top-brass requisite as well. Regarding contract renewals, negotiations to Fisk were simple. He’d per- formed for the Red Sox and performed well. So why should contract renewals be a battle? He felt estranged from the Boston organization.
While the Red Sox o ered the free agent Fisk a guaranteed $2 million plus incentives, the perennially noncontending but improving Chicago White Sox o ered $3.5 million. For new owners Eddie Einhorn and Jerry Reinsdorf, Fisk’s acquisition would create instant credibility. Fisk made the decision to sign with Chicago. Nevertheless, the decision to leave Boston was di cult.
In 1983 the White Sox made their rst appearance in the postseason since 1959, and many credited Fisk’s
work with pitchers Britt Burns, LaMarr Hoyt, and Richard Dotson as the key. Pudge averaged 125 games for Chicago through 1985, when he hit 37 home runs with 107 RBIs. But that year his honeymoon with the White Sox front o ce ended with a bitter salary dispute, and subsequent re-signings in 1986, 1988, 1991, and 1993 were as smooth as Vermont dirt roads in mud season.
At an age when many former major-leaguer players are collecting well-earned pension bene ts, and making appearances at card shows, fantasy camps, or old-timer’s games, Fisk continued his quest for per- sonal goals. In August 1990, at age 42, he hit his 328th home run as a catcher, setting a major-league record. His son Casey was there. “I had goosebumps when he hugged his boy at home plate,” said White Sox manager Je Torborg. “ at’s a big emotional thing right there. It meant so much to those two and that family.”20
In 1993 Fisk caught his 2,226th game, surpassing Bob Boone as the all-time leader. en, on June 28, the White Sox released him. e next day, Carlton and Linda Fisk sent a simple but heartfelt message to the Boston faithful. ey hired a plane to tow a banner reading, “IT ALL STARTED HERE. THANKS BOSTON FANS. PUDGE FISK.” ey sent a similar message across the sky over Comiskey Park.21
Years have come and gone since Fisk last took command of the baseball diamond in 1993, but many speci c memories of his playing days will not easily fade. e crucial game in Toronto late in September 1978, when the Red Sox were in the midst of staging their own comeback, winning 12 of their nal 14 to force a playo , serves as an example. In extra innings of a tie game, and playing with broken ribs, Fisk leaped out of his crouch, dove head rst on the turf to corral a sacri ce-bunt attempt, jumped back to his feet, and red a bullet to rst to nail the runner. e play was instrumental in the eventual Red Sox win. (Fisk re- ceived the cracked ribs weeks before while diving over a fence to grab a foul popup.)