Sport: Hot Dog and Pudge

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Cedeño, who says that he learned English from watching The Flintstones on TV, was at first like a cave man with a club, overswinging to the point that his batting average tapered off to .264 in 1971. Last year he learned to control his quick wrists and rhythmic swing so well that he led the Astros in hitting with a .320 average. Though he has missed nearly 20 games this season because of injuries, his 13 home runs, 29 stolen bases and .313 average as of last week have caused Houston fans to rename the Astrodome "Cesar's Palace."

Cedeño pulls off so many flashy plays in the field that some rivals accuse him of being a "hot dog"−base-ballese for showoff. Once, in a tight contest with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cedeño ended the game with a spectacular diving catch and then lay motionless on the field. As teammates rushed to his assistance, he was overcome with convulsions−of laughter. "I just thought I'd lie here for a while," he said, "so I'll get a big hand when I go in." He also travels with tape recordings of himself singing songs in Spanish because "I love to listen to myself."

Quiet Contrast. Fisk, on the other hand, speaks out only "when I think there's a need." Beginning as a third-string catcher with the Red Sox last season, he felt a need to play regularly. He got his chance in the first month of the season, and, says Boston Manager Eddie Kasko, "once he got into the lineup, I couldn't get him out." Neither could rival teams, and Fisk became the only rookie to play for either team in last year's All-Star Game. Then, in a rare display of truculence for a rookie, Fisk criticized Boston Stars Carl Yastrzemski and Reggie Smith for their lack of desire to win and for "not lending inspiration to the team." Though Smith was more miffed than Yastrzemski, neither could fault Fisk's hustling style of play. After batting .293, slugging 22 home runs and driving in 61 runs, he became the first player in American League history to win Rookie of the Year honors by a unanimous vote of the sports writers.

Carlton, son of Cecil, brother of Calvin, Cedric and Conrad, and father of Carlyn and Carson, is known in Charlestown, N.H., as Pudge. He won a basketball scholarship to the University of New Hampshire but realized that he was too short at 6 ft. 2 in. to make it as a forward in pro basketball. Therefore he signed a Red Sox contract in 1967. After a so-so performance in the minors, he joined the Red Sox and developed a discriminating eye. "Most young players chase a lot of bad pitches," says Kasko, "but not Pudge. He knows the strike zone." This season he is hitting .290, has 17 home runs and 43 runs batted in.