Hotshot Yankees phenom Deion Sanders runs afoul of the White Sox surly catcher, Carlton Fisk, in a meeting of two different generations that didn’t go so well…
On May 22, 1990, a clash between Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk and New York Yankees outfielder Deion Sanders was a classic “old-school vs. new-school” standoff that cleared the benches. It occurred after Sanders, then a dual-sport athlete, failed to run out a pop-fly.
According to veteran catcher Fisk, Sanders drew a dollar sign ($) in the dirt in the batter’s box. Sanders later claimed it was merely a routine marking to place his back foot, but Fisk saw the commercialism as disrespectful to the game. A little bit of chirping between the two eventually led to a full-blown escalation.
THE STORY: Allegedly, when Sanders came to bat leading off the fifth inning, Fisk made direct eye contact. Sanders allegedly mumbled a response, reportedly saying, “The days of slavery are over”.
Insulted that Sanders seemed to be making things into a racial issue, an irate Fisk confronted Sanders at the plate, which prompted the benches to clear. Fisk later stated, “There’s a right way and a wrong way to play this game… I don’t care whether you’re black or blue or pink or red.”
