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 New Hampshire Baseball Quiz QUESTION 15: What two New Hampshire natives are in the Baseball Hall of Fame? ANSWER: Frank Selee and Carlton Fisk Frank Selee Born in Amherst, Frank Selee may well be one of baseball's most underrated men. While Selee never played professional baseball, in 16 years as a major league manager he accumulated the fourth highest winning percentage in the history of the game. In his distinguished career, he won 1,284 games, earning a reputation as one of the smartest men in baseball, as manager of the Boston Beaneaters (1890-1901) and the Chicago Cubs (1902-05). With Boston, he won the National League championship five times in 12 seasons. Frank Selee was considered to have extraordinary ability in judging talent. One of his great moves, on becoming manager of the Chicago Cubs in 1902, was to switch Frank Chance from a platoon catcher to first base, getting his bat in the lineup every day. While Chance initially disliked the change, its wisdom was proven when the new first baseman hit .327 in 1903. Given Frank Selee's enormous success as a manager, it is somewhat surprising so little information exists about him, but he finally received the recognition he deserved when he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999. Carlton Fisk A native of Charlestown, Carlton Fisk is the first New Hampshire player elected to the Hall of Fame. As a boy, Fisk, nicknamed "Pudge" or "Pudgy," was an outstanding athlete in soccer, basketball, and baseball, attending the University of New Hampshire on a basketball scholarship. Drafted by the Red Sox in 1966, he played five minor league seasons, with brief major league appearances. Elevated to the parent club in 1972, Fisk proceeded to win Rookie of the Year honors, batting .292 as the Red Sox starting catcher. In a career that spanned parts of four decades, Fisk was an American League All Star ten times. Despite being out much of the season with injuries, in 1975 Fisk came back to hit .331 and to deliver his now famous home run against Cincinnati in the sixth game of the World Series. Perhaps his finest season ever in a distinguished career was 1977 when Fisk hit .315 with 26 home runs and 102 rbi. Following contract disputes after the 1980 season, Fisk made a bitter exit from the Red Sox to join the Chicago White Sox for whom he played until he retired in 1993. In 1991, in his 22nd season, the 43-year-old Fisk hit 18 home runs and 74 rbi. He was the oldest regular catcher in baseball history and set several major league records for catchers, including most home runs and most games caught. His uniform numbers, 27 and 72, were retired by the Red Sox and White Sox, respectively. Fisk became a member of the Hall of Fame in 2000.  |
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