Fletcher was considered a utility infielder by the Cubs, and was traded to the White Sox in 1983. Given the shortstop job in 1984, he batted .250 and played a solid defense. But with the arrival of Ozzie Guillen in 1985, Fletcher was left to shuttle around the infield, and was traded to Texas in November. He amazed skeptics in 1986 by putting together a 19-game July hitting streak, batting .300 for the season, and leading the Rangers with 34 doubles.
Fletcher again topped Texas regulars in batting in 1987 (.287) and in 1988 became the first area athlete ever to earn more than $1 million a year. He remained the Rangers’ starting shortstop until July 1989, when he was dealt back to Chicago with Sammy Sosa and Wilson Alvarez for Harold Baines.
With Guillen at short, Fletcher manned second base for the White Sox. He hit .242 in 1990 and just .206 in 1991, yielding playing time to backup Joey Cora. Not offered arbitration by the Pale Hose, Fletcher caught on with Milwaukee and rebounded to a .275 average as the Brewers’ primary second baseman in 1992. He moved to Boston the following season, but it was his last as a major-league regular. A leg injury limited him to just 63 games in 1994 and he spent the ’95 campaign with the Tigers as a backup to shortstop Chris Gomez.
