Boston Red Sox: Top 5 displaced homegrown players in history
By Manny Gómez
Top 5 Displaced Homegrown Red Sox Players in History
5. Carlton Fisk | 38.9 WAR in Boston
Carlton Fisk‘s Hall of Fame plaque features a bust of the catcher in a Boston Red Sox cap even though he mostly played with the Chicago White Sox. Regarding this, Fisk told reporters…
"“I would like to say that this always has been my favorite hat and I will be wearing this hat probably the rest of my career,” Fisk said. “I think I’ve known for a long time. It’s not like a light bulb came on or I had a vision. I think this has always been a part of me.”"
Sure, it was a part of him for 11 of his 24 MLB seasons, but his decision to wear the cap might not really have anything to do with that.
You see, Fisk’s departure from Chicago was one of the worst to memory. At 45-years of age, Fisk was a shell of himself during the 1993 MLB season. As a result, the White Sox decided to cut him.
What’s more, according to fellow Call to the Pen writer David Hill, Fisk was “told he was being released in his hotel room in Cleveland while the White Sox were in the midst of a road trip. He was also ordered to fly back to Chicago immediately, by himself, and to turn in his equipment tp the team before heading back.”
It just doesn’t get uglier than that.
None of this would be the case, however, had the Boston Red Sox decided to keep their homegrown catcher. I mean, we’re talking about a player here who made SEVEN All-star appearances wearing the iconic “B” for Boston on his hat.
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What’s worse, in just 11 seasons, Fisk would establish himself as an all-time great for Beantown. In fact, according to Baseball-Reference, Fisk is prominently featured as a top-24 player all-time for the franchise.
Thankfully, Fisk holds no grudges against Boston. In return, they decided to retire the number 27 in his honor in 2000.