7 time AL All Star
AL Gold Glove Winner 1972
AL Gold Glove Winner 1972
AL Rookie of the Year 1972
Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame 2000
The most contested starting spot on my team. Fisk gets the nod over Jason Varitek. Pudge was simply the best American League catcher during his time with the Red Sox. He started four of the seven all star games he was selected to. Varitek and Fisk have similar home run and runs batted in numbers while with the Sox but Fisk was a dominant player. He totalled 162 home runs, 568 runs batted in and a batting average of .284.
Two plays concerning Fisk stand out in my mind. I am not claiming to be at either game nor am I even saying I saw them live on television. The obvious one is game six home run off of the left field foul pole during the 1975 World Series. Most likely the most dramatic home run in series history in my lifetime (Joe Carter you say? The series was already over). The second one was footage I saw of a play at the plate in which Fisk is "taken out" by rival Thurman Munson. Fisk after picking himself off of the ground did not hesitate to pummel Munson for his action. This to me epitomized the Sox - Yankee rivalry of the 1970's. Members of both teams simply did not like each other.
I am a big Varitek fan and he will occupy one of the reserve spots on my all time team but Fisk was simply better. I do remember the day when I found out the Red Sox had allowed Fisk to become a free agent because they failed to file the proper paperwork in time. Fisk flourished offensively with the White Sox and retired as the all time leader in career home runs as a catcher.
After some debate, the New England raised Fisk decided to wear a Red Sox cap upon his election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
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