In 1976, Twins' manager Gene Mauch moved
Rod Carew from second base to first, in an effort to keep the batting champ
healthier. Carew spent the remainder of his career playing first base,
and this year responded with a huge season. Carew had his best year at
the plate; his batting average was the highest by any player in 20 years.
Carew had several more fine years at the position, and helped the Angels
win two division titles. He passed the 3000 hit mark in 1985, his final
season.
Carlton Fisk was nicknamed "Pudge" in the fifth grade, when he stood 4'11" and weighed 120 pounds. When he reached the major leagues he was less pudgy, standing 6'3" and weighing a solid 200 lbs. He was a native of New England, born in Vermont but raised in New Hampshire; his older brother had signed with the Orioles but gave up his career to join the military. Carlton was an outstanding amateur basketball player, but chose to sign with the Red Sox to play baseball.
In 1968, he batted .338 at Waterloo; the next year he hit .243 at Pittsfield, then in 1970 batted .229 at Pawtucket. The Red Sox were disappointed in his performance, but promoted him to Louisville in the International League, where he hit .263 in 1971, although he suffered a shoulder injury in a collision at home plate that limited him to 94 games. He later credited his manager at Louisville, Darrell Johnson, with teaching him about pitchers and pitch sequences and how to call games behind the plate.
The Red Sox in 1972 entered the season with three catchers. The position had been a problem for the Red Sox for many years; many veterans had been acquired and failed, while a long list of highly touted (and highly paid) prospects never panned out. Fisk had a good defensive reputation when he arrived in camp, but there were questions about his bat. The Sox gave the other two catchers a chance early in the season, then handed the job to Fisk.
"I wish I knew what I was doing right."
He played almost every day for the rest of the season. Fisk went on a power tear after he got the job, and was slugging over .600 at the end of July. He finished the year with a .293 average and 22 home runs, and was a unanimous Rookie of the Year. He also caused controversy late in the season, when the rookie criticized the play of the team's veteran outfielders: "Yastrzemski and Smith are not lending inspiration to the team, and their attitude is a disappointment."
In 1973, he hit five home runs in his first eight games. He played almost every inning of every game for the first half of the season; fearless behind the plate, he always attempted to block incoming runners, and was bowled over several times. On several occasions the benches cleared, with Fisk in the middle; he got into fights with Alan Gallagher and Thurman Munson, and gained a reputation for shooting off his mouth. He also struggled with the bat during the summer, and hit .246 with 26 homers on the season.
The next season would prove to be a turning point in his career. Fisk got a taste of what was to come during the winter, when the tip of one of his fingers was chopped off by a garage door. In spring training, he took a foul tip in the groin and missed most of April. He was bothered for weeks by chronic nausea, but his bat heated up in May and June. The Red Sox, after a 10-15 start, heated up as well, going 30-13 until June 28, when Fisk had his knee ligaments torn in a collision at the plate with Leron Lee. Fisk had surgery that ended his season; the Red Sox finished in third place.
"It was just a question of it being foul or fair. The wind must have carried it 15 feet toward the foul pole. I just stood there and watched."
The 1975 Red Sox, now managed by Darrell Johnson, had a slow start in April but played better in May and June. On June 23, Fisk returned to the lineup, following months of intense rehab. The workout regimen stayed with him for the rest of his career; Fisk endured four more knee surgeries and worked behind the plate until he was 45 years old, a record of durability that stands as a testament to how hard he worked during the winter. Fisk hit .331 for the rest of the 1975 season, helping the Red Sox win the division and sweep Oakland in the ALCS.
The 1975 World Series would prove to be one of baseball's greatest, and Fisk was often at the centre of the action. In Game Three he was involved in the "Great Bump" - in the bottom of the 10th inning, following a leadoff single, Ed Armbrister laid down a sacrifice bunt. As Fisk tried to field the ball, the catcher and batter collided; Fisk picked up the ball and threw it into centre field, sending the runner to third base. The home plate umpire, Larry Barnett, ruled that there was no intention by the batter to interfere. The play stood, and Cincinnati won the game.
Boston won Game Four, while the Reds won Game Five to take a 3-2 lead. Game Six was one of the greatest games ever played - and in the 12th inning, Fisk capped an evening of heroics with a game-winning home run. At Fenway Park, Fisk had to push delirious fans out of his path so that he could round the bases and touch home plate. Around the world, television viewers watched replays of Fisk standing at home plate, waving the ball fair, one of the most enduring images in the history of televised sports.
"It was simply an argument about baseball"
Game Six was the highpoint of the Darrell Johnson era in Boston. Game Seven was another great game, but this time the Reds won both the game and the Series. There were high hopes for the team entering 1976, though Fisk and two teammates remained unsigned during the winter. He hit just .255 during the season; early in the year there were rumours of a trade, and on May 20 Fisk got into a fight with Lou Piniella during a brawl with the Yankees. Fisk was twice benched by Johnson, and in June the two got into an argument in the dugout during which Fisk threw a helmet at his manager.
Johnson was fired in August, less than a year after leading the Sox to the pennant. Don Zimmer took over as manager, and Fisk signed a new contract. In 1977 he had the best season of his career, batting .315 with 26 home runs and 102 RBI, while catching 151 games. He finished with a tremendous September, while the Sox went 22-8 that month, just falling short behind the Yankees. Some hackles were raised after the season when Fisk only finished 8th in the MVP vote, behind teammate Jim Rice and, a particular sore spot, rival Thurman Munson.
The next season, Fisk caught an incredible 154 games; he did not hit at the same level as the previous year, but contributed with a .284 average, 39 doubles and 20 homers. He started slowly, but was outstanding during the summer; he broke a rib in August but continued to play with pain. The team was playing great, and had a seven game lead at the end of the month. In September, Fisk batted .250 with one home run; the Red Sox had a horrible stretch in which they lost 13 of 16 games and fell behind New York. The Sox recovered and won their last eight games, but lost a one-game playoff against the Yankees.
"If the pitchers don't want the responsibility of guys getting ticked off because we move them off the plate, then I'll take it."
The Red Sox had still not won a World Series since 1918; Fisk was the team's best player of the decade and the city's favourite son, and had gotten them within one game of the championship. Now, the Sox had just completed one of baseball's most famous collapses; Fisk was 31 years old, and his ability to lead them in the future was in question. The heavy workload took its toll, and Fisk lost much of the 1979 season to injury. First scar tissue and then bone fragments were discovered in his throwing elbow, and he caught only 39 games.
Entering the 1980 season, Fisk's elbow was still a question mark. But he was again the team's starting catcher in April, and caught 115 games that season while batting .289 with 18 home runs. In games that Fisk caught, the Red Sox were 68-44; without him, they were 15-33. The team made a charge in August, but had a terrible September; Don Zimmer was fired with five games left, while Fisk played his last game in a Red Sox uniform.
After the season, player and team became embroiled in a salary dispute; the Red Sox mailed Fisk's contract after the deadline, after which the MLBPA filed a grievance. Fisk won, and became a free agent; on March 28, he changed the colour of his socks when he signed with the Chicago White Sox. New ownership in Chicago was spending money after a terrible season, and was unafraid of giving a long-term contract to a 33-year-old catcher. (see
AL 1983).
This was Reggie Jackson's first year in New York. Apart from having
a great season and fighting with his manager and his owner and other players
and the like, Reggie also had a great World Series, smashing five (5!)
home runs against the Dodgers. Three of them came in the final game,
in three consecutive at bats off three different pitchers and on three
successive swings. Hence, Reggie earned the nickname "Mr. October"; he
also declared himself to be "The straw that stirs the drink", and it would
be hard to argue with that he was otherwise.
Mitchell Page broke into the majors at age 27, and had a
spectacular rookie year. He hit for average and power, drew walks,
and stole 42 bases (and was caught stealing only 5 times). He aged
quickly, however; after a solid season in 1978, Page stopped
hitting, and in a couple of years was reduced to being a reserve
player.
Al Cowens was runner-up in the MVP vote. Cowens
was one of many fine players produced by the Royals' farm system in the
1970's. He had a good year at the plate for the Royals, and was a good
defensive player, but I have a hard time believing he was better than
Jim Rice. Rice's team (the Red Sox) had a big year, winning 97 games
and finishing second in their division (as usual).
This was Lyman Bostock's best year, and it was a pretty good
one. He had reached the majors just two years before, and seemed
headed towards a fine career. Near the end of next season, he was
picked up at the airport by his uncle, and sat in the back seat of
the car next to his uncle's girlfriend. They were followed by the
girlfriend's ex-husband, who fired a gun at the woman but struck
and killed Bostock instead. The killer was acquitted by reason of insanity, and was a free man within two years.
Two Boston infielders, Carlton Fisk and Rick Burleson, had fine years.
This was Fisk's best year in a Boston uniform. Pudge was 29 years old; three
years later, the Sox thought he was getting over-the-hill, and traded him.
Instead, Fisk kept catching for another dozen years, and didn't retire until
he was 45. Fisk played in almost 2500 games in his career, hit 376 home
runs, and kept his batting average at a lifetime .270 level. He also caught
more games than any player in baseball history.
Among the greatest catchers ever, I have
to think that Fisk ranks behind Bench, Berra, Cochrane... and maybe
no one else. That's pretty good company. He also lent his nickname to
Ivan Rodriguez, and that's pretty good company, too. Fisk had to wait an extra
year before he was elected to the Hall Of Fame. That's also pretty good;
Roy Campanella had to wait seven years, Bill Dickey ten.
Another Boston infielder, Rick Burleson, also had a fine year. He is probably best remembered for his nickname, "Rooster", but
he was a fine defensive player who could hit a little, and who was an
All-Star four times.
