Title/Author:
“Pudge: The Biography of
Carlton Fisk” by Doug Wilson
Tags:
Baseball, history,
biography, Red Sox, White Sox
Publish date:
October 20, 2015
Length:
367 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (Outstanding)
Review:
It has been 40 years
since Carlton Fisk ended one of the best games in the history of the World
Series with a dramatic 12th inning home run. The scene has been played many times in those
40 years as the Boston Red Sox catcher frantically waved his arms to the right,
pleading for the ball to stay fair. Then came the leaps of joy along the first
base line when those pleas were answered. That is the lasting image of the man.
However, there is much
more to Carlton Fisk’s baseball career than that one moment. His journey from a
small town in New Hampshire to the ultimate baseball honor of being inducted
into the Hall of Fame in a small town in upstate New York is captured in this
excellent biography by Doug Wilson.
Fisk’s family life while
growing up in New Hampshire helped shape him into the ball player he became
through his father – something that Wilson repeatedly illustrates throughout
the book. Fisk’s legendary work ethic and punishing workouts are just two
examples of how this is illustrated. His
high school, college and minor league playing days are also included in great
detail to illustrate his desire to succeed.
However, what really
makes the book shine is Wilson’s meticulous research and interviews when
writing about Carlton’s major league career with the Red Sox and the Chicago
White Sox. The stories from teammates on
both teams and the recaps of successful seasons he had with both franchises are
captured in a style that is easy and enjoyable to read. This is because Wilson’s writing is liberally
sprinkled with humor, anecdotes and even baseball clichés that don’t sound
forced like they do when players use them in interviews. In this book, they
just flow naturally with the rest of the text.
It isn’t all peaches and
cream for Fisk in his career and in the book. The injuries he suffered and the
workouts he endured to make sure he was still in top form when he returned are
told in less-than-glorious accounts. Wilson
also writes about Carlton’s acrimonious negotiations with both the Red Sox and
White Sox regarding contracts. He ended up leaving both clubs under less than
friendly circumstances and the accounts of these departures, while certainly told
in a manner that seems more sympathetic to Fisk, are told in such great detail
that the reader will feel that he or she is sitting at the negotiating table
hearing every insult each side is telling the other one.
Because of all these
reasons and more, this is a book that belongs on the bookcase of every baseball
fan, whether or not that person saw Fisk play or just knows him through seeing
the World Series home run on a highlight show of great World Series
moments. It is a book that it packed
with a lot of information on the man and when the reader is finished, the
memories will seem like that World Series home run – they will last for a long
time.
I wish to thank Thomas
Dunne Books for providing an advance review copy of the book in exchange for an
honest review.
Buying links:
Excellent review-it certainly captures the essence of the book. I loved it too and found it more interesting than Brooks.
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