"Fisher opened eyes in spring training with his 93-mph fastball and hard slider. Shipped to Columbus (AAA) to start the season, he was soon recalled and came through with an outstanding rookie year. He collected 14 saves and allowed only four homers in 98 1/3 innings as a Yankee.
He had control problems as a starter in the Atlanta organization, but they vanished when he was switched to the bullpen by the Yankees last season- Fisher struck out 85 and walked only 29. Opponents hit only .216 against him, the best mark among Yankee pitchers. In his last 14 games, he was 0-1 with seven saves, allowing only six runs in 23 2/3 innings; all those runs came in the ninth inning of a disastrous outing against Cleveland on September 16.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Fisher grew up in Colorado. He was obtained from the Braves for Rick Cerone prior to last season and became the first Yankee to wear uniform No. 54 since Rich Gossage- and it fit him nicely."
-Tom Verducci, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1986 Edition
"The Yankees knew they had made a good deal when they acquired Brian Fisher before the start of last season, but his performance in 1985 confirmed all beliefs and had the entire organization smiling. 'He came to New York and responded beautifully,' said pitching coach Jeff Torborg after Fisher came to the Yankees from the Atlanta organization.
Fisher did respond, and then some. The young, right-handed fireballer drew much praise during his first year in the Yankees bullpen. As a setup man for Dave Righetti, his work was compared to the job Ron Davis did setting up for Goose Gossage; and as a stopper, he and Righetti gave the Yankees their best lefty/righty combination since Gossage and Sparky Lyle.
The Fisher trademark is a blazing fastball, but No. 54 brings more than just a live arm to the mound. Young Fisher also has the right attitude needed to deal with the pressures of being a relief pitcher. 'Pressure affects everybody, but when I come to the mound I know I have a job to do and I try to do it to the best of my ability.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1986 Yearbook
"One of the Yankees' final cuts out of spring training where he made an impressive showing, the initial plans were for Fisher to be a middle reliever, but he quickly established himself as the Yankees' right-handed stopper.
At Columbus he relieved in seven games (11.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 7 BB, 12K, 2.38 ERA). Fisher was purchased by the Yankees on May 1 when Rich Bordi was disabled, and made his first major league appearance on May 7 at Minnesota. He earned his first win in relief of John Montefusco on May 14 against Minnesota and picked up his first save on May 18 at California. After May 25, Brian kept his ERA under three for the remainder of the season. He allowed just four home runs in 98.1 innings pitched- one homer every 89 at-bats- and opposing hitters batted a mere .216 against him.
Brian struck out a season high of six batters on three occasions (June 15 against Detroit, June 30 against Milwaukee and August 21 at California) and from August 24 at Seattle to September 14 against Toronto, he didn't allow any runs (10 games, 15.1 IP, 2 BB, 19 K), lowering his ERA from 2.41 to 2.00. From July 29 through the season's end, he made 29 appearances and was 2-2 with 10 saves with 47.2 innings pitched, 11 earned runs and a 2.08 ERA; six of those earned runs came in one appearance, September 16 against Cleveland with Fisher allowing seven hits in 1 1/3 innings pitched.
Fisher was strictly a starter in his five years with the Braves' minor league system; in 111 minor league games he relieved only once. He achieved 100-plus strikeouts four consecutive years, 1981-84. He tied a Carolina League record held by Rudy May by striking out 20 batters in one game against Salem in 1982, and issued no walks in the game. Brian was acquired from Atlanta for Rick Cerone in December 1984.
Brian graduated from Hinkley High School (Aurora, Colorado) in 1980. He was a high school All-American in baseball and was all-league in football."
-1986 New York Yankees Information Guide
No comments:
Post a Comment