DICK RADATZ·1962

He shows up at Fenway and they gasp. Six-foot-six of rookie right arm, and by summer the place is calling him The Monster. Fifty-three games finished, twenty-four saves, 144 strikeouts in 124 innings—a fireman working the ninth with a blowtorch. They hand him the Fireman of the Year trophy, and Boston wonders what happens when he gets comfortable. The Monster's first year is done. The lore is just starting to pile up.

THE MONSTER ARRIVES

Six-foot-six rookie walks in from the Fenway pen — the borough gasps, and the nickname sticks by summer.

FIREMAN '62

Fifty-three games finished, twenty-four saves — TSN Fireman of the Year on the first try.

144 K

One hundred forty-four punchouts in 124⅔ — hitters swinging late at a blowtorch ninth.

Dick Radatz, Boston Red Sox, 1965. Jay Publishing / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain (US).