Fisk And Perez Voted Into Hall

January 11, 2000 / 2:42 PM EST / CBS/AP

Carlton Fisk was elected to the Hall of Fame today on his second try, and Tony Perez was voted in on his ninth appearance on the ballot.

Fisk, who caught the most games in major league history (2,226) and hit a record 351 of 376 career home runs while playing the position, received 397 votes among the record 499 ballots cast by 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Perez, a former World Series rival of Fisk and also a teammate, received 385 votes.

"I'll be happy and proud to be standing up there in July at the same podium as he is," Fisk said in Chicago.

To be elected, a player had to be listed on 375 ballots (75 percent). Fisk, who fell 43 votes short last year, received 79.6 percent and made it with 22 votes to spare.

Perez, 71 votes shy last year when Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount were chosen, got 77.2 percent and was elected with 10 votes to spare.

"It's sweet now, when I'm in. It doesn't matter how long I had to wait," Perez said from his home in Puerto Rico. "The first thing I thought of was calling my mother in Cuba. The family was there, too. They started jumping around. My mother was crying."

Jim Rice, Fisk's former Boston Red Sox teammate, was third with 257 votes (51.5 percent), followed by Gary Carter (248), Bruce Sutter (192), Rich Gossage (166) and Steve Garvey (160).

Tommy John was next at 135, followed by Jim Kaat (125), Dale Murphy (116), Jack Morris (111), Dave Parker (104), Bert Blyleven (87), Luis Tiant (86), Dave Concepcion (67), Keith Hernandez (52) and Ron Guidry (44).

Thirteen players who failed to receive 5 percent (25 votes) will be dropped from the ballot, a group that includes Jeff Reardon (24), Bob Boone (21), Willie Wilson (10), Rick Sutcliffe (9), Kent Hrbek (5) and Charlie Hough (4).

Dave Henderson and Steve Sax received two votes each, while Bill Gullickson, Bruce Hurst, Lonnie Smith and Bob Welch got one vote apiece. Hubie Brooks was the only player among the 30 on the ballot not to receive any votes.

Six writers, deciding no one was worthy, submitted blank ballots.

Fisk and Perez will be inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown, N.Y., on July 23 along with anyone elected when the veterans' committee meets Feb. 29 at Tampa, Fla.

Former manager Sparky Anderson and longtime Minnesota star Tony Oliva will be considered by the panel for the first time. Of the 246 members of the Hall, 93 have been elected by the BBWAA.

Gossage received the most votes among the 14 players on the ballot for the first time. Next year's ballot will include first-time candidates Kirby Puckett, Dave Winfield, Lou Whitaker and Don Mattingly.

Fisk's most memorable shot did not count in his career total. He won Game 6 of the 1975 World Series when he homered in the bottom of the 12th inning at FenwaPark, watching and waving the whole way. Once the ball hit the foul pole, he took off and passed Perez, the Cincinnati first baseman.

Fisk spent 11 seasons with the Boston Red Sox and 13 with the Chicago White Sox. He isn't sure which hat he'll ask for on his Hall of Fame plaque.

"I have to think about it a little more," he said. "I'm going to reserve judgment on that for a little while."

When he retired in 1993, he left the White Sox with hard feelings.

"Some of that is water under the bridge, but some of the issues still haven't been addressed," Fisk said. "There are some very definite scars from our relationship."

Perez finished with 379 career home runs. He also had a few that do not appear in his total many fans do not recall that a day after Fisk's famous shot, Perez homered in Game 7 to help the Big Red Machine rally for a 4-3 victory and the championship.

Some might say that home run off Bill Lee's blooper pitch sums up Perez's career his accomplishments always seemed to be overshadowed by those of others.

Perez has 1,652 RBIs, the most among players not in the Hall. Still, he is often overlooked in the glare of his Reds teammates Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan, Hall of Famers all.

"A lot people have been telling me this was my year," Perez said. "I started feeling pretty confident about it."

Still, when Jack O'Connell was the BBWAA called him with the news, the first thing Perez said was, "Are you sure?"

Fisk made his major league debut with Boston in 1969 and stayed with the Red Sox through 1980, playing that last season with Perez. He left amid much acrimony and then spent from 1981 to 1993 with the Chicago White Sox.

Fisk, who lives in Lockport, Ill., returned last year to the Red Sox as a special assistant to the general manager. That led to speculation he would wear a Boston cap on his plaque.