"When you're a winner you're always happy, but if you're happy as a loser you'll always be a loser." – Mark Fidrych
Mark Fidrych, “The Bird,” former Detroit Tigers phenom and the talk of baseball died yesterday on his farm. Fidrych was the talk of baseball in 1976 and 1977 until he was sidelined after an embarassing loss on the 4th of July in Baltimore. The Bird stirred up the baseball world for his quirky delivery and odd-ball behavior which included talking to the baseball and going around thanking and shaking hands with his fielders who made tough plays behind him. His odd ball behavior included manicuring the pitching mound and crouching down to dust off cleat marks. “Bird watching” became a national passion in 1976 becoming one of the biggest sports media phenomenon’s in the pre-cable, Internet age appearing on all major national sports publications and even Rolling Stone magazine.
Through it all, on rookie pay, he lived in a modest Detroit apartment driving a bright green cheapo-cheapo subcompact car.
He just fell short of 20 wins in 1976, his rookie year, at 19-9, 2.34 ERA. 1977 was to be another good year and starting off at 6-4 with a 2.89 ERA, he looked solid at first.
The Bird was a huge draw at the box office as fans would buy tickets in their home market simply for the wonder of seeing this most unusual fellow tend to his trade. Imagine him getting rousing ovations at Yankee Stadium famous for driving visitors mad with their rough attitude and constant taunts.
On July 4, 1977, Mark Fydrych faced the Baltimore Orioles to a near sell-out crowd at Memorial Stadium. It was a hot, steamy typical hot Baltimore night and the beer was cold. Baltimore baseball fans weren’t about to coddle the cuddly kid. Instead, they were howling, booing and shouting insults from the instant the Bird walked to the mound to throw his first pitch. Among other things, the stadium rocked with chants of “Bird Brain, Bird Brain.” Quickly, the whole crowd could tell the Tigers’ young ace was losing his composure.
Fidrych gave up six runs in 5.2 innings capped by an Eddie Murray homerun. Even light hitting shortstop, Mark Belanger, knocked in two runs as Earl Weaver’s warriors poured it on unmercifully. When Tigers manager, Ralph Houk marched to the mound to make a pitching change, once again, the Orioles fans erupted screaming and hollering as the Bird vanished into the Tiger dugout and an early shower. He indicated he felt his arm go dead in that game. It was a torn rotator cuff, a sure death sentence to many pitching careers at that point in baseball history.
His career would never be the same. Arm trouble set in and he’d finish 1977 with a 6-4 mark. He’d only start three games in 1978 winning two of them, but would never regain major league form losing three games in four starts in 1979 and pitching to a 2-3 record in 1980 in nine starts before being released. By then, the mystique had worn off and Fidrych disappeared into private life.
Beginning the 1977 season, the Tigers looked forward to the young Fidrych being part of an emerging young rotation, but there were four players who came up from AAA briefly for their first major league appearances who’d be the core of the Detroit Tigers making them a dominant team in the 1980’s, right-handed starter, Jack Morris; catcher, Lance Parrish, and the legendary double play partnership of Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker.
His rotator cuff injury was diagnosed too late to respond to effective surgery. At the age of 29, his career was over having seen every one from hypnotists to chiropractors to try to treat his ailing shoulder. It was not until 1985 when consulting with noted surgeon, James Andrews, properly diagnosed and corrected his injury, but it was too little, too late for Fidrych to return to baseball.
He retired to his native Massachusetts living on a 107 farm in Northborough. He worked as a contractor with gravel and concrete and assisted his mother-in-law’s business, a diner in Northborough on weekends.
Mark, “the Bird,” Fidrych was found dead under a dump truck on his farm apparently performing maintenance on the truck in anticipation of the construction season.
Love him for his quirky antics or dismiss him as a flake, no fan of baseball wasn’t aware of Mark Fidrych until that tragic game in Baltimore. His legacy will live on in the hearts of Tigers fans even though his stats would show him as just another one year wonder.
Mark Fidrych, “The Bird,” former Detroit Tigers phenom and the talk of baseball died yesterday on his farm. Fidrych was the talk of baseball in 1976 and 1977 until he was sidelined after an embarassing loss on the 4th of July in Baltimore. The Bird stirred up the baseball world for his quirky delivery and odd-ball behavior which included talking to the baseball and going around thanking and shaking hands with his fielders who made tough plays behind him. His odd ball behavior included manicuring the pitching mound and crouching down to dust off cleat marks. “Bird watching” became a national passion in 1976 becoming one of the biggest sports media phenomenon’s in the pre-cable, Internet age appearing on all major national sports publications and even Rolling Stone magazine.
Through it all, on rookie pay, he lived in a modest Detroit apartment driving a bright green cheapo-cheapo subcompact car.
He just fell short of 20 wins in 1976, his rookie year, at 19-9, 2.34 ERA. 1977 was to be another good year and starting off at 6-4 with a 2.89 ERA, he looked solid at first.
The Bird was a huge draw at the box office as fans would buy tickets in their home market simply for the wonder of seeing this most unusual fellow tend to his trade. Imagine him getting rousing ovations at Yankee Stadium famous for driving visitors mad with their rough attitude and constant taunts.
On July 4, 1977, Mark Fydrych faced the Baltimore Orioles to a near sell-out crowd at Memorial Stadium. It was a hot, steamy typical hot Baltimore night and the beer was cold. Baltimore baseball fans weren’t about to coddle the cuddly kid. Instead, they were howling, booing and shouting insults from the instant the Bird walked to the mound to throw his first pitch. Among other things, the stadium rocked with chants of “Bird Brain, Bird Brain.” Quickly, the whole crowd could tell the Tigers’ young ace was losing his composure.
Fidrych gave up six runs in 5.2 innings capped by an Eddie Murray homerun. Even light hitting shortstop, Mark Belanger, knocked in two runs as Earl Weaver’s warriors poured it on unmercifully. When Tigers manager, Ralph Houk marched to the mound to make a pitching change, once again, the Orioles fans erupted screaming and hollering as the Bird vanished into the Tiger dugout and an early shower. He indicated he felt his arm go dead in that game. It was a torn rotator cuff, a sure death sentence to many pitching careers at that point in baseball history.
His career would never be the same. Arm trouble set in and he’d finish 1977 with a 6-4 mark. He’d only start three games in 1978 winning two of them, but would never regain major league form losing three games in four starts in 1979 and pitching to a 2-3 record in 1980 in nine starts before being released. By then, the mystique had worn off and Fidrych disappeared into private life.
Beginning the 1977 season, the Tigers looked forward to the young Fidrych being part of an emerging young rotation, but there were four players who came up from AAA briefly for their first major league appearances who’d be the core of the Detroit Tigers making them a dominant team in the 1980’s, right-handed starter, Jack Morris; catcher, Lance Parrish, and the legendary double play partnership of Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker.
His rotator cuff injury was diagnosed too late to respond to effective surgery. At the age of 29, his career was over having seen every one from hypnotists to chiropractors to try to treat his ailing shoulder. It was not until 1985 when consulting with noted surgeon, James Andrews, properly diagnosed and corrected his injury, but it was too little, too late for Fidrych to return to baseball.
He retired to his native Massachusetts living on a 107 farm in Northborough. He worked as a contractor with gravel and concrete and assisted his mother-in-law’s business, a diner in Northborough on weekends.
Mark, “the Bird,” Fidrych was found dead under a dump truck on his farm apparently performing maintenance on the truck in anticipation of the construction season.
Love him for his quirky antics or dismiss him as a flake, no fan of baseball wasn’t aware of Mark Fidrych until that tragic game in Baltimore. His legacy will live on in the hearts of Tigers fans even though his stats would show him as just another one year wonder.
No comments:
Post a Comment