Carlton Fisk

Carlton Fisk never dreamed it would come down to this. "I'm not your classic home-run hitter," the Chicago White Sox catcher said. "I'm more of a line-drive hitter. I'm not like (Oakland A's star Jose) Canseco and those other guys who just bomb balls out of the park." One more homer, though, and he will have bombed more balls out of the park than any other catcher in baseball history. Fisk tied Hall of Famer Johnny Bench with 327 homers with a shot Aug. 8 in Kansas City.

Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk, best known for his home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, has been charged with DUI after police in New Lenox, Ill., said they found him passed out in a pickup truck. Fisk, 64, was at the wheel with the engine running when police arrived around 7:25 p.m. Monday, according to Deputy Chief Bob Pawlisz. Fisk refused to take a blood-alcohol test and had an open bottle of vodka in the car. Fisk was released after posting bail and is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 29. Police said there was no damage to the vehicle beyond "what might have occurred driving through a ditch.

Carlton Fisk, a 16-year major league veteran, has signed a one-year contract with the Chicago White Sox and is listed as the team's starting catcher for 1988. "We have satisfied one of our major needs by signing Carlton Fisk," General Manager Larry Himes said Friday. "I know that Carlton is happy to be back with the White Sox, and the White Sox are happy to have him on board for 1988."

They are forever linked by the memorable World Series of 1975, and now they are forever linked in an even more meaningful way. Sparky Anderson, the manager of Cincinnati's Big Red Machine in '75, Tony Perez, his first baseman, and Carlton Fisk, the Boston Red Sox catcher who hit that dramatic home run in Game 6, were inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame on Sunday, the culmination of an improbable career journey for each, and a 25-year reunion of which Fisk said: "To have it come full circle . .

The moment is frozen in the camera of the mind. It is Oct. 21, 1975, the 12th inning of a memorable sixth game of an equally memorable World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds. Boston catcher Carlton Fisk, leading off the inning with the score tied, 6-6, his team trailing in games, 3-2, the night of the 21st having become the morning of the 22nd, hits a towering fly ball toward the left-field corner at Fenway Park.

They are forever linked by the memorable World Series of 1975, and now they are forever linked in an even more meaningful way. Sparky Anderson, the manager of Cincinnati's Big Red Machine in '75, Tony Perez, his first baseman, and Carlton Fisk, the Boston Red Sox catcher who hit that dramatic home run in Game 6, were inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame on Sunday, the culmination of an improbable career journey for each, and a 25-year reunion of which Fisk said: "To have it come full circle . .

Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knees.

Catcher Carlton Fisk of the White Sox will start the season on the 15-day disabled list because of a bone spur and tendinitis in his right foot. . . . Oakland Athletic starter Dave Stewart, pitching for the first time in 10 days, pronounced the slight strain in his left rib cage sound.

Longevity landed Carlton Fisk and Tony Perez in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but one game defined their careers. Twenty-five years after the Reds and Red Sox played in the 1975 World Series, baseball will celebrate one of its greatest moments when two of the series' heroes are inducted at Cooperstown this weekend. Former Cincinnati manager Sparky Anderson, who was elected by the Veterans Committee, and longtime Reds announcer Marty Brennaman, who will receive the Ford C.

Carlton Fisk and Tony Perez were elected to baseball's Hall of Fame on Tuesday, and for the ninth time former Dodger Steve Garvey fell short of the necessary votes. But Garvey, who finished sixth in the voting by the Baseball Writers Assn. of America, hasn't given up hope. "I'm an optimist," he said. "Maybe the fact that Tony Perez made it and his numbers and mine are comparable will help." Perez made it in his ninth year of eligibility. The two first basemen did have similar careers.

Besides following in the media-friendly footsteps of Davey Johnson, what will be Ray Miller's biggest obstacle as manager of the Baltimore Orioles? Cal Ripken Jr. So contends Peter Gammons of the Boston Globe, who writes: "While Miller is a terrific pitching coach, he had a bad time managing in Minnesota and will have nothing but problems with Cal Ripken. "Cal is a non-pitcher guy.

Carlton Fisk, who hit one of baseball's most memorable home runs and went on to catch more games than any major leaguer, was released Monday by the Chicago White Sox. The move was long expected because of the 45-year-old's feud with management over his diminished playing time. "I know a bunch of fans out there and some people will be upset with me, but my job here is to win," said Ron Schueler, White Sox general manager. "Maybe we were a little bit unfair.

Carlton Fisk, saying he hoped to be remembered for doing his best, was honored Tuesday night by fans and his Chicago White Sox teammates before breaking the major league record for games caught. With his family, parents and friends present in Chicago for "Carlton Fisk Night," he then squatted behind the plate and caught a pitch from Alex Fernandez for game No. 2,226. The White Sox won, 3-2, handing the Rangers their fifth consecutive loss.

The Chicago White Sox will honor 45-year-old catcher Carlton Fisk in a ceremony before tonight's game against the Texas Rangers in Comiskey Park. There will probably be a speech by a former teammate or coach, and a club official promised "a few surprises," but don't expect the team to retire his number. Unless Fisk agrees to retire with it. To many, Fisk, who tied Bob Boone's major league record of 2,225 games caught Monday night, has been a symbol of durability, perseverance and hard work.

At lunch recently in Boston, Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk, Jack Sands, Fisk's agent; two of Sands' employees and a sportswriter were treated to an unusual display of loyalty. According to Dave Nightingale of the Sporting News, Sands reached for the $70 tab, only to find that waiter J.T. Thorne had beaten him to the bill. "This one's on me," Thorne said. Sands asked if the manager of the restaurant was taking care of the check. "No sir," Thorne said. "I am. This one's on me."

It seems as if Carlton Fisk lives on an island when he comes to Chicago's Comiskey Park, his home away from home. His dressing cubicle is back in the farthest corner of the spacious clubhouse--far behind the Ping-Pong table where the Joey Coras and Ron Karkovices frolic away the pregame hours; back there next to the secrecy of the trainer's room and the solitude of the weight room; back there as far from personal contact as you can get.