Carlton Fisk

Baseball Player Won-Loss Records
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Carlton Fisk

Hall-of-Famers as Seen Through Player Won-Lost Records: Carlton Fisk

Carlton Fisk was elected to the Hall of Fame in his 2nd year of eligibility, 2000, with 79.6% of the vote.

Five highlights of Carlton Fisk's career:

Carlton Fisk held the major-league record for games played at catcher at his retirement, having set the record of 2,226 games caught in the final game of his major-league career on June 22, 1993, breaking the previous record of 2,225 games held by Bob Boone. Ivan Rodriguez (who shared a nickname, "Pudge", with Fisk and was the opposing catcher in Fisk's final game) has since broken Fisk’s record.

Fisk won the 1972 American League Rookie of the Year award. He was named to eleven All-Star teams and received MVP votes seven times, finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting four times.

Fisk hit 351 of his 376 career home runs as a catcher, a major-league record for home runs as a catcher until it was broken by Mike Piazza.

Fisk was born and raised in New England and played his first nine seasons with the Boston Red Sox. Fisk’s first game as a new member of the Chicago White Sox was against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 10, 1981. In the top of the eighth inning, Fisk hit a one-out, three-run home run to give the White Sox a 3-2 lead in a game they would go on to win 5-3.

Carlton Fisk had his uniform number retired by both the Boston Red Sox (27) and Chicago White Sox (72).

The first two tables below present Carlton Fisk's career as measured by Player won-lost records, in and out of context.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWORL	pWOPA

Basic Player Won-Lost Records
						Value Decomposition
1969	BOS	21	2	0.0	0.1	-0.1	-0.1
1970	-	22	-	-	-	-	-
1971	BOS	23	14	1.1	1.2	0.0	-0.1
1972	BOS	24	131	14.8	10.6	5.7	4.4
1973	BOS	25	135	13.7	12.7	3.0	1.7
1974	BOS	26	52	5.8	4.4	2.1	1.6
1975	BOS	27	79	8.4	6.5	2.9	2.2
1976	BOS	28	134	12.5	12.8	1.6	0.4
1977	BOS	29	152	18.4	12.0	8.3	6.8
1978	BOS	30	157	18.4	13.0	7.6	6.0
1979	BOS	31	91	7.3	6.6	1.6	0.8
1980	BOS	32	131	12.6	11.1	3.1	1.9
1981	CHA	33	95	9.5	9.3	1.5	0.6
1982	CHA	34	135	13.1	12.4	2.5	1.3
1983	CHA	35	138	15.4	11.4	5.9	4.6
1984	CHA	36	102	8.0	9.4	-0.0	-0.9
1985	CHA	37	153	17.7	13.4	6.4	4.9
1986	CHA	38	125	11.0	14.3	-1.7	-3.0
1987	CHA	39	135	13.1	12.2	3.0	1.8
1988	CHA	40	76	7.5	6.9	1.8	1.1
1989	CHA	41	103	10.8	9.4	3.0	2.0
1990	CHA	42	137	14.5	10.7	5.6	4.4
1991	CHA	43	134	12.8	12.8	2.0	0.7
1992	CHA	44	62	4.8	4.5	1.1	0.6
1993	CHA	45	25	0.7	1.4	-0.6	-0.7
			------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			2,498	251.9	219.3	66.2	43.0
			------	------	------	------	------
PostSeason (career)			14	1.5	1.4	0.4	0.2
			------	------	------	------	------
COMBINED			2,512	253.4	220.7	66.6	43.2

Season	Team	Age	Games	eWins	eLosses	eWORL	eWOPA

Expected Player Won-Lost Records
						Value Decomposition
1969	BOS	21	2	0.0	0.1	-0.1	-0.1
1970	-	22	-	-	-	-	-
1971	BOS	23	14	1.3	1.1	0.3	0.2
1972	BOS	24	131	15.4	10.1	6.7	5.5
1973	BOS	25	135	13.6	12.8	2.8	1.5
1974	BOS	26	52	5.8	4.3	2.2	1.7
1975	BOS	27	79	8.4	6.5	2.9	2.2
1976	BOS	28	134	13.5	11.8	3.5	2.2
1977	BOS	29	152	17.4	12.9	6.5	5.0
1978	BOS	30	157	17.7	13.8	6.0	4.5
1979	BOS	31	91	6.8	7.1	0.5	-0.3
1980	BOS	32	131	12.7	11.0	3.3	2.1
1981	CHA	33	95	9.9	8.9	2.4	1.5
1982	CHA	34	135	13.1	12.4	2.6	1.4
1983	CHA	35	138	14.9	11.9	4.9	3.6
1984	CHA	36	102	9.1	8.3	2.2	1.3
1985	CHA	37	153	16.9	14.1	5.0	3.4
1986	CHA	38	125	11.2	14.1	-1.4	-2.6
1987	CHA	39	135	13.0	12.3	2.7	1.5
1988	CHA	40	76	8.1	6.3	2.9	2.2
1989	CHA	41	103	10.7	9.6	2.8	1.8
1990	CHA	42	137	13.7	11.5	4.1	2.8
1991	CHA	43	134	12.5	13.0	1.5	0.2
1992	CHA	44	62	4.4	5.0	0.2	-0.3
1993	CHA	45	25	0.8	1.3	-0.3	-0.4
			------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			2,498	250.8	220.4	64.1	40.9
			------	------	------	------	------
PostSeason (career)			14	1.5	1.4	0.3	0.2
			------	------	------	------	------
COMBINED			2,512	252.2	221.8	64.4	41.0

In his final season, 1993, Carlton Fisk set a record (since broken) for games played at catcher. Fisk did not merely play a lot of games at catcher; he played extremely well as a catcher.

The top 10 catchers, for whom I have measured Player won-lost records, ranked by (context-neutral, teammate-adjusted) eWins over positional average earned only while playing catcher, are shown in the next table.

	Top 10 Catchers, ranked by career eWOPA (C only)
		eWins	eLosses	eWOPA
1	Mike Piazza	192.1	154.9	43.2
2	Johnny Bench	193.0	154.2	42.2
3	Carlton Fisk	227.2	196.1	41.8
4	Yogi Berra	189.0	158.0	35.3
5	Gary Carter	219.9	190.6	34.4
6	Gabby Hartnett	173.9	144.6	34.2
7	Mickey Cochrane	155.4	126.2	33.9
8	Bill Dickey	173.5	146.5	32.4
9	Jorge Posada	147.5	131.2	25.5
10	Ted Simmons	192.0	171.5	24.8

Carlton Fisk was able to set the career record for games played at catcher because he was able to remain a regular through his age-43 season.

The next two tables show the top 15 players in each of pWOPA, pWORL, eWOPA, and eWORL earned at age 40 or older.

		pWins over Positional Average Top 15 Players						pWins over Replacement Level Top 15 Players
	Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL
1	Roger Clemens	55.3	41.9	16.1	22.4	1	Roger Clemens	55.3	41.9	16.1	22.4
2	Hoyt Wilhelm	54.0	41.9	11.7	20.3	2	Hoyt Wilhelm	54.0	41.9	11.7	20.3
3	Jack Quinn	74.6	68.2	9.6	19.4	3	Jack Quinn	74.6	68.2	9.6	19.4
4	Pete Alexander	39.5	31.7	9.5	13.9	4	Nolan Ryan	79.6	73.0	9.4	19.2
5	Nolan Ryan	79.6	73.0	9.4	19.2	5	Warren Spahn	75.9	72.6	7.7	16.9
6	Mariano Rivera	19.6	10.2	8.8	11.7	6	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	61.8	57.4	7.9	15.7
7	Carlton Fisk	51.1	45.7	8.1	12.8	7	Phil Niekro	117.5	123.2	0.3	15.0
8	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	61.8	57.4	7.9	15.7	8	Pete Alexander	39.5	31.7	9.5	13.9
9	Warren Spahn	75.9	72.6	7.7	16.9	9	Carlton Fisk	51.1	45.7	8.1	12.8
10	Willie Mays	34.0	25.9	6.4	9.4	10	Jamie Moyer	91.6	96.6	-0.6	11.9
11	Barry Bonds	32.6	24.9	6.1	8.9	11	Mariano Rivera	19.6	10.2	8.8	11.7
12	David Ortiz	17.4	12.4	4.5	6.6	12	David Wells	45.9	44.5	3.7	9.6
13	Connie Marrero	36.1	33.3	4.5	8.9	13	Sam Rice	58.5	50.8	3.8	9.6
14	Ty Cobb	31.4	25.1	4.4	7.3	14	Willie Mays	34.0	25.9	6.4	9.4
15	Doug Jones	19.4	14.8	4.2	7.4	15	Barry Bonds	32.6	24.9	6.1	8.9

		eWins over Positional Average Top 15 Players						eWins over Replacement Level Top 15 Players
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL		Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
1	Roger Clemens	54.8	42.4	15.3	21.7	1	Nolan Ryan	82.0	70.5	14.5	24.4
2	Nolan Ryan	82.0	70.5	14.5	24.4	2	Roger Clemens	54.8	42.4	15.3	21.7
3	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	63.5	55.7	11.1	18.9	3	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	63.5	55.7	11.1	18.9
4	Hoyt Wilhelm	52.3	43.6	9.4	18.0	4	Hoyt Wilhelm	52.3	43.6	9.4	18.0
5	Jack Quinn	73.2	69.6	7.8	17.5	5	Jack Quinn	73.2	69.6	7.8	17.5
6	Pete Alexander	38.2	33.0	7.2	11.7	6	Warren Spahn	74.2	74.3	4.6	13.7
7	Barry Bonds	32.8	24.7	6.7	9.4	7	Pete Alexander	38.2	33.0	7.2	11.7
8	Carlton Fisk	50.1	46.6	6.3	11.0	8	Carlton Fisk	50.1	46.6	6.3	11.0
9	Mariano Rivera	18.2	11.6	6.2	9.0	9	Luke Appling	58.2	54.0	4.9	10.6
10	Ted Lyons	25.3	21.4	5.3	8.2	10	Barry Bonds	32.8	24.7	6.7	9.4
11	Luke Appling	58.2	54.0	4.9	10.6	11	Gaylord Perry	55.2	55.0	2.5	9.4
12	Warren Spahn	74.2	74.3	4.6	13.7	12	Phil Niekro	114.5	126.2	-5.4	9.3
13	Willie Mays	33.0	26.9	4.5	7.5	13	Mariano Rivera	18.2	11.6	6.2	9.0
14	John Smoltz	21.2	18.4	4.2	6.8	14	Early Wynn	36.6	34.7	4.2	8.5
15	Early Wynn	36.6	34.7	4.2	8.5	15	David Wells	45.3	45.2	2.3	8.3

Pushing the age back to 35 picks up two of Fisk's top four seasons, as measured by pWins over either positional average and replacement level, but also picks up what were probably Fisk's two worst seasons as a regular. It also greatly expands the universe of players against whom Fisk can be compared. Not surprisingly, therefore, Fisk's rank slips somewhat among players age 35 and over, although he still rates extremely well.

The final table of this article, then, show the top 40 players in eWOPA and eWORL earned at age 35 or older.

		eWins over Positional Average Top 40 Players						eWins over Replacement Level Top 40 Players
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL		Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
1	Barry Bonds	153.0	92.1	53.8	65.9	1	Barry Bonds	153.0	92.1	53.8	65.9
2	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	141.9	117.0	34.7	51.4	2	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	141.9	117.0	34.7	51.4
3	Babe Ruth	113.0	73.8	33.5	43.2	3	Babe Ruth	113.0	73.8	33.5	43.2
4	Ted Williams	118.1	83.8	28.4	38.8	4	Warren Spahn	164.3	151.5	23.0	42.2
5	Roger Clemens	120.1	97.5	26.8	41.5	5	Roger Clemens	120.1	97.5	26.8	41.5
6	Willie Mays	132.5	103.5	23.6	35.3	6	Ted Williams	118.1	83.8	28.4	38.8
7	Hank Aaron	129.5	99.0	23.2	35.1	7	Gaylord Perry	136.0	119.2	21.1	37.1
8	Warren Spahn	164.3	151.5	23.0	42.2	8	Nolan Ryan	147.5	138.2	18.0	35.8
9	Lefty Grove	86.8	70.6	21.7	31.3	9	Willie Mays	132.5	103.5	23.6	35.3
10	Gaylord Perry	136.0	119.2	21.1	37.1	10	Hank Aaron	129.5	99.0	23.2	35.1
11	Dazzy Vance	110.9	95.8	20.8	33.7	11	Dazzy Vance	110.9	95.8	20.8	33.7
12	Mariano Rivera	50.9	29.9	19.5	27.2	12	Phil Niekro	209.7	217.0	5.9	31.4
13	John Smoltz	71.7	56.0	19.3	28.5	13	Lefty Grove	86.8	70.6	21.7	31.3
14	Pete Alexander	99.8	86.1	19.0	30.5	14	Pete Alexander	99.8	86.1	19.0	30.5
15	Curt Schilling	69.5	54.0	18.3	26.6	15	Hoyt Wilhelm	98.5	86.5	15.1	30.3
16	Nolan Ryan	147.5	138.2	18.0	35.8	16	Jack Quinn	119.9	112.0	14.5	30.1
17	David Ortiz	84.2	64.4	17.5	27.6	17	Greg Maddux	106.8	99.3	16.2	29.2
18	Greg Maddux	106.8	99.3	16.2	29.2	18	John Smoltz	71.7	56.0	19.3	28.5
19	Jim Thome	73.4	55.3	15.4	24.1	19	Early Wynn	123.1	116.3	14.2	28.5
20	Edgar Martinez	90.6	71.8	15.1	26.3	20	David Ortiz	84.2	64.4	17.5	27.6
21	Hoyt Wilhelm	98.5	86.5	15.1	30.3	21	Mariano Rivera	50.9	29.9	19.5	27.2
22	Babe Adams	69.1	57.8	14.9	23.2	22	David Wells	105.8	96.1	13.1	26.8
23	Chipper Jones	91.5	74.6	14.7	22.7	23	Curt Schilling	69.5	54.0	18.3	26.6
24	Mike Schmidt	82.2	64.6	14.6	21.6	24	Edgar Martinez	90.6	71.8	15.1	26.3
25	Indian Bob Johnson	109.0	88.1	14.6	24.7	25	Luke Appling	125.6	114.4	13.5	25.9
26	Jack Quinn	119.9	112.0	14.5	30.1	26	Tommy John	116.1	107.1	11.4	25.8
27	Early Wynn	123.1	116.3	14.2	28.5	27	Emil 'Dutch' Leonard	91.5	82.7	13.9	25.5
28	Emil 'Dutch' Leonard	91.5	82.7	13.9	25.5	28	Jamie Moyer	150.5	151.9	4.4	24.8
29	Ted Lyons	80.9	72.1	13.7	22.9	29	Indian Bob Johnson	109.0	88.1	14.6	24.7
30	Luke Appling	125.6	114.4	13.5	25.9	30	Carlton Fisk	115.2	107.4	13.5	24.4
31	Carlton Fisk	115.2	107.4	13.5	24.4	31	Jim Thome	73.4	55.3	15.4	24.1
32	Joe L. Morgan	90.3	78.7	13.4	21.6	32	Dennis Martinez	88.1	80.0	12.9	23.8
33	David Wells	105.8	96.1	13.1	26.8	33	Babe Adams	69.1	57.8	14.9	23.2
34	Dennis Martinez	88.1	80.0	12.9	23.8	34	Ted Lyons	80.9	72.1	13.7	22.9
35	Tris Speaker	106.2	88.8	12.7	22.7	35	Tris Speaker	106.2	88.8	12.7	22.7
36	Nelson R. Cruz	60.1	45.6	12.7	19.8	36	Chipper Jones	91.5	74.6	14.7	22.7
37	Brian Downing	89.4	74.1	12.6	22.5	37	Brian Downing	89.4	74.1	12.6	22.5
38	Spud Chandler	41.9	32.3	12.3	16.8	38	Steve Carlton	104.3	102.2	9.5	21.8
39	J. Kevin Brown	52.9	44.1	12.1	18.5	39	Mike Schmidt	82.2	64.6	14.6	21.6
40	Curt Davis	77.9	70.0	12.1	21.5	40	Joe L. Morgan	90.3	78.7	13.4	21.6

Article last updated: April 6, 2020

All articles are written so that they pull data directly from the most recent version of the Player won-lost database. Hence, any numbers cited within these articles should automatically incorporate the most recent update to Player won-lost records. In some cases, however, the accompanying text may have been written based on previous versions of Player won-lost records. I apologize if this results in non-sensical text in any cases.

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