CHICAGO -- The running feud between catcher Carlton Fisk and Chicago White Sox management took on epic proportions Saturday, with club owner Jerry Reinsdorf going public to blast the future Hall of Famer as a 'prima donna' who 'must think he's Michael Jackson.'
Fisk revealed Thursday he had balked at the club's offer for a one- year contract for the upcoming season -- a year in which Fisk is practically assured of breaking Bob Boone's major-league record for games caught. Fisk needs to catch in 25 more games to break the record.
The club had announced Feb. 5 the sides had struck a deal, but Fisk then said he refused to sign because the club's offer was for a minor- league contract. The White Sox countered by saying that was only a technicality so they could protect younger players on their 40-man roster.
But Saturday, Reinsdorf took the next shot, or shots, that may sever the relationship for good.
'He's 45 years old; it's time he grew up,' Reinsdorf told the Chicago Sun-Times. 'I'm sick and tired of him acting like a baby.
'He believes he has been mistreated, but nobody has ever been catered to here more than Carlton Fisk. He's a prima donna. He must think he's Michael Jackson.'
Fisk had contended he struck down the deal because it contained no guarantees, but Reinsdorf, who also owns the Chicago Bulls, insists the pact was guaranteed for $650,000 with incentives to $1 million.
'Carlton was assured he would be in a major-league uniform, on a major-league field, in a major-league clubhouse, with major-league meal money,' Reinsdorf told the Sun-Times.
'Our offer is still good because our fans want to see him break the record. But if he doesn't like it here, he has my blessing to go somewhere else.'
The White Sox owner also criticized the media for 'not telling the truth' about the normally dour Fisk.
'Here's a guy who doesn't like anybody and is always unhappy, yet no one ever writes it,' he said. 'Everyone is afraid of him. I don't know why. I'm waiting for just one writer to come out and tell the truth. They just tell his side.
'Well, we have a side, too, and this is it.'
