Thanks for the Memories, Bird, and Rest in Peace
April 13, 2009 – 7:11 pm Mark Fidrych, the improbable folk hero of the 1976 Tigers, passed away unexpectedly today, at age 54. Bursting onto the national scene in the summer of 1976, after not even making the team out of spring training, “The Bird,” as he was called, stormed the baseball world by talking to baseballs, and by throwing them by the best hitters in the game. A rookie All-Star, he went 19-9, 2.34 ERA, completed 24 games, including back-to-back 11-inning efforts, and racked up 234 strikeoputs. He was certainly the best pitcher in baseball, and just what Detroit needed, coming after a 1975 that saw Detroit crowned the “Murder Capitol,” with 801 homicides, with a steep recession idling thousands, and with all four professional franchises having finished last.
“The City of Champions” of 1935, when all pro teams (Lions, Tigers and Red Wings) became, “The City of Chumps,” in the words of a local sportswriter, when the Pistons joined the three older frachises in the cellar. 1976 started out better, only by comparison with what came before, but it wasn’t until May, when Fidrych joined the rotation, that the magic happened. A national TV baseball broadcase of one of his earliest starts showcased his talent, and his innocently endearing mannerisms, to the entire country, and a legend was born.
Fame meant nothing to Mark Fidrych, who shrugged off the adulation innocently, and who never let it change him. One big season was all he had, as injuries derailed a brilliant career, but through the heights and valleys, he remained the quintessinal kid who made the big time. Gone now because of an accident on the farm in Massechucetts that he returned to after his last comeback, in 1980, failed, he leaves behind, for those of us old enough to remember a special summer, warn memories of the unhittable innocent they called, “The Bird.”
Rest In Peace.
2 Responses to “Thanks for the Memories, Bird, and Rest in Peace”
That is very sad news, indeed. My prayers for his soul, and to the family he leaves behind.
By Mutnodjmet on Apr 13, 2009
DETROIT (AP) -The Detroit Tigers paid tribute to Mark Fidrych with a moment of silence and a special video before Wednesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.
The 54-year-old Fidrych, who captured the nation’s imagination during his rookie of the year season in 1976, died Monday in an accident at his Massachusetts home.
Authorities are awaiting autopsy results to determine how he died.
The Fidrych tribute took place after the previously scheduled events honoring Jackie Robinson. Because every player wore No. 42 in honor of Robinson, Fidrych’s No. 20 normally worn by backup catcher Matt Treanor went unused.
A funeral for Fidrych was scheduled for Friday at First Parish Unitarian Church in Northborough, Mass.
By Nik on Apr 16, 2009