Catcher Carlton Fisk Wednesday signed his contract with the White Sox and was expected in camp when the rest of the players report Friday for the first full-squad workouts. Pitchers and catchers reported last week, but Fisk had stayed home for the last week because of a language snag in his contract, a one-year deal worth $1.3 million.
He was reportedly unhappy over a clause that would hold up some $900,000 in deferred payments if Fisk somehow embarrassed the club. That clause angered Fisk, 41, whose children are nearly grown.
He has passed a series of tests on his left knee, which went through arthroscopic surgery during the off-season.
– The White Sox now wear blue socks, not striped socks. Never has a big-league team devoted so much attention to its hosiery. Players groused last year when General Manager Larry Himes required that they expose the red-and-white stripes on the blue stirrups that are worn over white sanitary socks.
The issue became moot Wednesday when the Sox trained in their new plain, dark-blue stirrups. The initial reaction was relief, although some players snickered that they need a new rule governing the amount of blue to be shown. ”I don`t like stripes,” manager Jeff Torborg said. ”We had stripes in Cleveland.”
The club decided it was too difficult to have ”White Sox” sewn on the new stirrups, as originally planned.
– The Sox and Cleveland are reportedly the two clubs most interested in Minnesota second baseman Steve Lombardozzi, the Twins` regular in their world- championship year of 1987 but who was replaced first by Tommy Herr and now by Wally Backman. Twins GM Andy MacPhail said he`s been trying to trade Lombardozzi ”for some time.” Asked if the player could be dealt any day now, he said: ”That is correct.”
