Carlton Fisk played more games with the Chicago White Sox than he did with the Boston Red Sox.
Doesn’t that sound strange. I mean unless you are Jimmy Pardo or grew up on the South Side of Chicago, when I say Carlton Fisk, you think of the Red Sox. His hat on his Hall of Fame plaque is a Red Sox hat. His lasting image in baseball history is that of him waving the ball fair in the 1975 World Series.
He was born in New England, grew up in New England. He idolized the Red Sox. He was one of us.
And if someone coldly looked at his stats, they could make the case that the hat on his plaque should have read S-O-X, as in Chicago.
It would be a tough argument to have him wear the curly Q C hat that he wore with the totally forgettable White Sox uniforms shown on this record breaker card issued in 1991. The card commemorates when he homered off of Charlie Hough, another old timer, to pass Johnny Bench for most homers ever by a catcher.
How did that happen? How did a New England legend spend so much time in Chicago when he should have been breaking records and playing in the post season with Boston for his entire career?
The answer is simple. I have often criticized the Red Sox management at the time for being racist and immoral. But let’s not discount how stupid they were either.
It had to do with a postmark.
Fisk was born in Vermont and grew up in Charlestown New Hampshire. Already he was the perfect Red Sox star. He could represent 3 New England states right out of the gate. He was a basketball and baseball star and wound up being drafted by the Red Sox in 1967.
After making cameos in the big leagues in 1969 and 1971, he was up for good in 1972. He won the Gold Glove, smashed 22 homers, led the league with 9 triples, batted .293 and had an OPS of .909 as the Red Sox contended for the AL East until the final day of the season. He made the All Star team and was named Rookie of the Year.
A star was born.
Along with the Yankee’s Thurman Munson, he had a not so friendly rivalry among the AL’s best catchers. He also faced his share of injuries but excelled when he was on the field. Between 1972 and 1980, all of his full years with the Red Sox, he missed the All Star Game twice.
Ironically one of the years he wasn’t an All Star was 1975, the year of his immortality.
The Red Sox had an offensive nucleus of Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Dwight Evans, Jerry Remy, Rick Burleson and Carlton Fisk in 1980. My favorite player, Butch Hobson, was wonderful but injury prone. It was an All Star team that needed a few pitchers to win the East.
Guess what? They wanted to get paid. It was the era of free agency and the Red Sox were a team that had money. Hey! Why not keep the team together?
Well this was the Red Sox, who felt compelled to shell out big dough for Bill Campbell, Mike Torrez and Tony Perez but suddenly got cost conscious when it came to their own star players.
Fisk wanted a significant raise. Haywood Sullivan (no relation to me), the GM of the team balked and a stand off took place. Eventually the Red Sox mailed him a contract.
There was one problem. The post mark was a day after the free agency deadline. Now there are two explanations of what happened: The Red Sox management intentionally mailed it a day late to create the optics that they tried to keep Carlton Fisk while actually letting him walk… OR… they stupidly forgot to put it in the mail.
EITHER ANSWER makes the Red Sox look stupid. Do you know what also made the Red Sox look stupid? The fact that Carlton Fisk continued to produce like an All Star as a member of the White Sox.
He signed with Chicago before the 1981 season and always seemed to homer against the Red Sox when he returned.
In 107 career games against Boston, he batted .310, had an OPS of .967, homered 27 times (appropriately his number with Boston).
He made four more All Star teams, finishing third in the 1983 MVP vote when he helped lead Chicago to the ALCS. His 37 homers in 1985 earned him a Silver Slugger Award. He was a Silver Slugger in 1988 as well, finished 15th in the MVP vote in 1990 and made the 1991 All Star Team.
The Red Sox did develop another home grown native New Englander All Star catcher with Rich Gedman. But Free Agency derailed his career, specifically collusion. The Red Sox could have resigned Fisk, but declined to because they were one of the colluding organizations.
So, when Fisk’s career wrapped up in 1993, he played 1078 games over 9 plus seasons in Boston and 1421 games in 13 seasons for Chicago.
214 of his 376 career homers were as a White Sox catcher.
He should have been a Red Sox catcher for life. He should have been on the 1986 pennant winner and the 1988 and 1990 Division Champs, teammates with Evans for all three and Rice in 1986 and 1988.
Instead a contract was put into the mail a day late and we had to see Fisk wear all sorts of crappy looking White Sox jerseys.
So we’ve all seen the Fisk homer in the 1975 World Series. Let’s see him homer in his return to Fenway, putting the White Sox up in the game late. It was a huge middle finger to Red Sox management as he got a standing ovation from the Boston fans.
“Did you hear about that Matt Merullo kid? I hear he is going to be great.”
I heard more about Matt Merullo, a reserve catcher for the White Sox, than you would ever think short of being a member of the Merullo family.
There was a reason for that. I had recently moved to New York from California to start college in 1990. That meant I spent a lot of time with relatives, various cousins, aunts and uncles in Connecticut. Being in close proximity to relatives I did not see often was one of the reasons I chose to go to school at NYU.
So there were plenty of days 18 year old Sully was sitting with some old timers in Fairfield or Bridgeport Connecticut. The topic of baseball would come up because it was wise for me to avoid politics.
When baseball would come up, Matt Merullo would be a topic. “I hear he is doing great. He is going to be a star player.”
Now I knew damn well that MY chances of being the starting catcher for the White Sox was only slightly worse than Matt Merullo’s. This was not a slight on him. He made it to the major leagues and I was having a sandwich in Fairfield with men 40 years my senior, so clearly he had the upper hand.
The reason Merullo was such a hot topic was he went to school near by and he was a local kid who did well.
Merullo was the grandson of Lennie Merullo, a native Bostonian who went to Boston College and played with the Cubs. He was part of the 1945 NL Champs and lived until 2015 at the age of 98. He was, at the time, the last living player who appeared in the World Series with the Cubs. Now there are quite a few more.
Lennie Merullo was included in the 2015 edition of the Sully Baseball In Memoriam videos which you can see by clicking HERE.
Lennie’s name came up a lot because, well, he was a native New Englander who was Catholic.
His grandson, Matt, attended Fairfield Prep in Connecticut. My dad went there. So did several of my cousins. My Uncles on both my mother and father’s side of the family went there. At one point, I thought I was going to go to Fairfield Prep except for the fact that we didn’t live in Fairfield.
Fairfield Prep was hardly a baseball factory. As far as I could tell, at the time Matt Merullo was the first to make it to the major leagues. No wonder they talked about him like he was the second coming of Carlton Fisk.
He went to UNC Chapel Hill and was drafted in the 7th Round by the White Sox in 1986. By 1989, he was in the big leagues, the first (as far as I can tell) Fairfield Prep grad to make it that far.
In his first ever start, he went 2 for 4 and homered off of Rick Honeycutt in a game against the eventual World Champion Oakland A’s. No doubt they were celebrating at the Seagrape in Fairfield.
When I arrived back in the East Coast in 1990, Merullo was still in the minors, where he stayed the whole season. Remember how I made the analogy to Carlton Fisk. Well, the ACTUAL Carlton Fisk was still starting for the White Sox and doing quite well, thank you very much.
After Fisk was Ron Karkovice, a talented defensive catcher who would start for most teams that the White Sox had waiting in the wings for Fisk’s decline.
Merullo was third in the line of succession. He was the Speaker of the House for the starting catching position on the White Sox. But getting that close was the act of a pioneer in Fairfield.
By 1991, the 25 year old Merullo was back in the big leagues and all of Fairfield rejoiced. While Fisk made the All Star team that year, Merullo managed to get into 80 games, starting 13 times at catcher and 10 times at first base. Getting playing time was rough with Fisk and Frank Thomas still producing.
No doubt someone in Fairfield thinks that it took two Hall of Famers to stop him from being a star.
The biggest game of his career took place on June 2, 1991 once again against the A’s. At this point Oakland was the three time defending AL Champ and Mike Moore was beating the White Sox in the 8th 3-1. Robin Ventura singled to make the score 3-2.
The A’s brought in reliever Steve Chitren to face Sammy Sosa. White Sox manager Jeff Torborg countered by calling in the kid from Fairfield Prep.
That’s right. Merullo pinch hit for Sammy Sosa in a big spot against the A’s in the 1990s. (This was before Sammy was SAMMY SOSA, but those are just details.)
On a 3-2 pitch Merullo slammed a ball into right field, scoring Dan Pasqua and Robin Ventura giving the White Sox the lead.
Merullo would be lifted for a pinch runner and Carlton Fisk was inserted into the game. But the offensive hero of the game was Merullo as the White Sox won 4-3.
After 1991, he had a rough 1992 with the White Sox, batting .180 in 24 games. He only appeared in 8 games for the 1993 AL West champs, going 1 for 20.
In 1994, he played 4 games with Cleveland. Then after the strike and lockout ended, he resurfaced with Minnesota and had the best year of his career. He played in 76 games, starting 37 at catcher. He hit a respectable .282 for Tom Kelly’s team, had a modest 8 game hitting streak and on June 19th had a 4 hit game.
Guess which team he did it against. The A’s.
That was it for his career as he didn’t play in the majors again after 1995 but he made it to the bigs and became a point of pride for everyone in Fairfield.
Since then, pitcher and Fairfield Prep grad Mike Porzio played a few seasons in the majors including a few seasons for the White Sox in the early 2000’s.
No doubt the old timers in Fairfield had some great things to say about him.
Time might not heal all wounds, but it can take care of a lot of them. As a Red Sox fan, I can attest there have been plenty of wounds inflicted on us in various Septembers and Octobers. And I can also say that the World Series titles of 2004, 2007 and 2013 have eased a whole lot of pain.
You would think there would be nothing painful left. After claiming to want to see just one World Series title before we die, Red Sox fans can rank the recent championships inGold, Silver and Bronze.
And many clips that have been painful to look at in the past no longer make me cringe.
Some failures seemed to set up a victory as a prelude. Seeing Grady Little leave Pedro in for too long and Aaron Boone homering in extra innings no longer makes me queasy. The 2003 ALCS loss set up the celebration of 2004.
Someone linked me a video clip of Carl Crawford falling down and the winning run scoring during the season finale of 2011 with the caption “Something to make every Red Sox fan cry.” Nope. 2011 is just prologue for the Boston Strong title of 2013.
But despite three titles and Dombrowski putting together a new contender, there are still a pair of games that make me shudder.
Deep to left… Yastrzemski will not get it. It’s a home run! A three run home run by Bucky Dent and the Yankees now lead it by a score of three to two.
And of course…
A little roller along first… BEHIND THE BAG! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!
Yup.
1978 and 1986 still hurt. Maybe not as badly as they did before Dave Roberts stole second. But they still sting.
Now before I continue, let me make something perfectly clear. I am simply showing the Buckner error as a shorthand of everything painful about 1986.
Please read the next sentence carefully.
I AM NOT BLAMING BILL BUCKNER FOR THE 1986 WORLD SERIES!
In fact I believe the Buckner error is the single most overrated play in baseball history. If he had made the play, the Red Sox would not have won the World Series then. The game was already tied on the underrated wild pitch.
And the play did not clinch the World Series for the Mets. It tied the series at 3 and the Red Sox took a 3-0 lead in Game 7, which they ultimately lost.
I covered all that in this video…
But why have the scars of 1978 and 1986 not completely healed?
For me, the cringe worthy factors for both years come from not only how close both teams came to becoming THE beloved team of Boston history, but who could have cemented their legacies with a Red Sox championship.
Look at the recent dismantling of the 2013 Champs. Sure there were a few beloved homegrown mainstays who departed, like Jacoby Ellsbury and Jon Lester. But most of the outgoing champion Sox were short timers, like Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, Stephen Drew or David Ross.
Now take the 1978 team. Had they won the World Series that year, imagine the parade of all time beloved Red Sox who would have been crowned instantly.
Carlton Fisk? Check.
Carl Yastrzemski? The Captain has his title.
Jim Rice, Fred Lynn and Dwight Evans… the best Red Sox outfield in history? Come get your rings.
A pair of future Red Sox broadcasters, Jerry Remy and Bob Montgomery, would be able to tell stories about their title.
Fan favorites like George Scott, Rick Burleson and my personal favorite Butch Hobson would be able to have their crowning achievements.
Luis Tiant and Bill Lee, the most unique pitching tandem in Red Sox history, would have the championship that eluded them in 1975 (and Lee, the last remaining Buffalo Head, would have his vindication.)
And perhaps Dennis Eckersley’s Hall of Fame career would have kicked into full gear before his transformation in Oakland.
That is a galaxy of beloved Red Sox stars, whose legacy would stretch from the 1967 Impossible Dream to Eckersley being teammates with Pedro, Mo and Nomar in 1998. It would take the sting out of 1975 (and make that simply prologue for the glories of 1978) and give so many legends a chance to have their greatest moment.
Also it would have driven George Steinbrenner bananas.
Instead Don Zimmer managed the team like someone who was in mid panic, the Yankees pulled off the four game sweep and then there was the Bucky Dent game.
Remember, the Red Sox rallied and had the winning runs on base in the bottom of the 9th. Jim Rice hit a deep fly which if it went out, the Red Sox would head to the playoffs and probably win it all. Yaz of course popped out. And 1978, instead of being the team that becomes the unquestionably most beloved team in the history of Boston sports, became a crushing reminder of what was not to be.
The frustration over the 1986 squad is less about a beloved team and more about some legacies that were forever tainted by Games 6 and 7 of the World Series.
By all accounts, the 1986 squad was not a cute and cuddly bunch. They were the proverbial “24 players, 24 cabs” crew. But they also could pitch, hit and field and in the 1986 ALCS, they showed they had heart as well.
Down 3-1 in the series and trailing by 3 in the 9th inning of Game 5, the Red Sox looked like they were going to be a forgotten division winner to the Angels. But then Gene Mauch over managed, as only Gene Mauch could do. A Dave Henderson homer and some clutch pitching from Steve Crawford later, the Sox were alive. Then they blew out the Angels in Games 6 and 7. This Red Sox team was different. They stared down defeat and beat it.
Had the last out had been made in World Series Game 6 (if only Carter, Mitchell, Knight or Wilson had popped up, grounded out or something) the team that became synonymous with choking would represent the exact opposite.
If the Red Sox had won, Dave Henderson would have been the out of nowhere hero of the ALCS and World Series, taking the mantle now occupied by another reserve outfielder turned ALCS Red Sox hero named Dave (that would be Dave Roberts.)
But beyond the stigma of losing the series, a reversal of fortune in 1986 would have forever changed the legacy of 7 baseball figures.
Roger Clemens would have eclipsed Larry Bird as the biggest sports figure in Boston. Bird was a legend. But Clemens would have done the impossible. After years and years of seeing all hit, no pitch Red Sox teams fall short, Clemens would be seen as the great leader of the team, the man who delivered what so many other stars could not.
Maybe as a beloved Red Sox champion he does not leave bitter in 1996. Maybe he does not balloon up in the late 1990s. Maybe his legacy isn’t altered. Maybe 21 is retired and the debate of who was the biggest figure in Boston sports of the 1980s would be between Roger and Larry.
All wonderful maybes.
Wade Boggs would have cemented his legacy early as one of the greats in Red Sox history. He still became that, but his number isn’t retired at Fenway and there has been super tension between the best hitter of his generation and the team he came within a strike of leading to the promised land.
Jim Rice ultimately would make it to the Hall of Fame and have his number retired. But only after 15 years of haggling over his numbers and controversy. Had that last out been made, Rice would not have waited until 2009 for his induction. He would have been in in 1995, on the first ballot (and before Sabermetric arguments could even be made.)
Why? Because the narrative would have been simple: Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski had better numbers. But they WON with Jim Rice. (And with Rice’s injury keeping him out of the 1975 World Series, the narrative would have extended back to then. They would have won TWO had Rice not broken his hand!)
Dwight Evans, the lone active player who appeared in both the 1975 and 1986 World Series, would be more than just a beloved former Red Sox. With a World Series title, people might examine his career a little more closely and see his Cooperstown case is actually compelling.
His Hall of Fame candidacy was 3 years and out and never made much of a dent. With a World Series title, he might have stuck around on the ballot for a few more years, maybe long enough for the advanced metrics voters to see his combination of power, on base and defense made him more valuable than people may have realized.
Who knows? If Gary Carter, Kevin Mitchell, Ray Knight or Mookie Wilson popped up, Dwight Evans might be in the Hall of Fame.
Bob Stanley threw the wild pitch that tied the game and served up the Mookie Wilson grounder. He had 2 strikes on Mookie before the wild pitch and saw what seemed like 47,000 pitches fouled off.
If one pitch was tipped into the glove or he just missed, Bob Stanley would be the man on the mound when the Red Sox won it all. There would be no memory of Stanley gaining weight and losing his effectiveness after signing a big contract. Stanley would not be thought of as a symbol for Red Sox loserdom, as he was called in Curse of the Bambino (not by me.)
The image on everyone’s wall, locker and poster in every kid’s bedroom would be Bob Stanley jumping in the air, a Red Sox champion. The two time All Star would be a beloved figure, his stockiness adding to his charm instead of fueling people’s frustration.
John McNamara’s legacy in Boston is Grady Little-esque. He is thought of as a manager who dozed off during spring training games and made some boneheaded decisions in big moments. Not replacing Bill Buckner for Dave Stapleton defensively in Game 6 (as he had in every other post season victory) did not crack the the top 10 of strange decisions he made.
Many people, including the author of this post, blamed him more than any player for the World Series loss.
But had that last out been made, it would have been the defining achievement of a baseball lifer who was beloved by many of his players. Reggie Jackson called him his favorite manager after his turns in both Oakland and California. Tom Seaver, who played under McNamara in Cincinnati, swore by him. Mike LaCoss, a guest on my podcast, described him as a calm father figure.
Imagine if a nice Irish Catholic man who spent his life in baseball had won the title in Boston. He would be asked to speak at every Knights of Columbus meeting in New England from now to the end of time.
Even casual fans know who Bill Buckner is. No name ever became a quicker short hand for Red Sox ineptitude than Buckner. And as the years went by, the significance of his error grew with a false narrative.
“If Bill Buckner had made that play, the Red Sox would have won the World Series!” Untrue.
“With that error, the Mets won the World Series!” Untrue.
For years, anyone who saw I was a Red Sox fan felt they could get my goat simply by saying “BUCK-NAH!” Even Red Sox fans, who initially blamed Schraldi and McNamara and Stanley, turned on him. Fenway gave Buckner a standing ovation in 1990 when he returned to the club after stints with the Angels and Royals. But as the memories of 1986 became fuzzier and his blame was erroneously increased, Buckner moved away from New England.
It wasn’t until after the 2007 title that Buckner was brought back to Fenway to a thunderous ovation. (It also resulted in a memorable episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but I digress.)
But if that last out was made, what would be Bill Buckner’s legacy?
He would have collected 2,714 hits over his 20 seasons in the majors. Buckner was an All Star and a batting champion. Twice he led the league in doubles. He drove in 102 runs for the Red Sox in 1986 and joined Wade Boggs and Rich Gedman in giving left handed balance to the lineup with the right handed Marty Barrett, Don Baylor, Tony Armas and Jim Rice.
Yes, his ankles were hurt and he was hobbled, but the sight of him playing through the pain would have made him a hero.
With the last out, Bill Buckner would have represented everything great and worth admiring about the 1986 Red Sox.
Bill Buckner would represent heart and being a winner.
Alas, the fan base moves on, hoping to see a fourth World Series title in our lifetimes.
It would have been nice if some of these great names could have been part of a World Series celebration.
Sully Baseball 
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