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Carlton Fisk
#27
| Catcher
| Boston
Red Sox
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Carlton Fisk |
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| Carlton Fisk |
Although Carlton Fisk played more than half his career with the Chicago White Sox, it seems impossible to New Englanders that he played anywhere but Boston.
Fisk grew up in New England (Charlestown, New Hampshire) and is best known for waving his home run fair off of the Reds' Pat Darcy to win Game Six of the 1975 World Series - one of the most dramatic moments in the game's history, and perhaps the most memorable image in baseball's TV era.
Fisk didn't play his first full season until age 24, but still set major league records for most games caught (2,226), most home runs by a catcher (351), most home runs after the age of 40 (72) and most games, hits and at-bats for a catcher. Fisk played 11 years in Boston before signing as a free agent in 1981 with the Chicago White Sox, for whom he played 13 years and retired as the franchise's all-time home run leader.
As a rookie Fisk, was already known as a top defensive catcher, but he surprised most observers by becoming an offensive force as well, batting .293 with 22 home runs to become the American League's first-ever unanimous Rookie of the Year. In 1977, he became the fifth catcher to both score and drive in 100 runs in a season. In 1985, he hit 37 home runs, an American League record for players playing primarily as catchers. In all, he had eight seasons with at least 20 homers.
On May 8 and 9, 1984, he caught all 25 innings of the second-longest game in major league history, a 7-6 White Sox victory over the Brewers.
"The man's a winner."
— Tony LaRussa, about Carlton Fisk
Picture from National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc.
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