Monday, April 13th, 2009...7:06 PM
All Star Baseball Player Mark Fidrych Found Dead
The colorful right-hander was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1976 when he went 19-9 with a 2.34 ERA. He spent all five of his major league seasons with the Detroit Tigers, compiling a 29-19 record and a 3.10 ERA. Fidrych attempted a comeback with the hometown Boston Red Sox in the mid-1980’s but never made it out of the minor leagues.
Over the course of his short career, Fidrych became known for many other on-field antics. He chased groundskeepers from the pitching mound and got down on his hands and knees to fill in holes and wipe away cleat marks. He also raced around the field shaking infielders’ hands after good plays. Fidrych’s entertaining on-field behavior was complemented by his quirky nickname, “The Bird”. Lakeland coach Jeff Hogan is credited with giving Fidrych the nickname because he reminded him of the Sesame Street character Big Bird.
Fidrych enjoyed a short baseball career…but it was a memorable one.
2 Comments
April 14th, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Iam sitting here in China 3 hours west of Shaghai Iam crushed! Iam coming home after 3 weeks alone on another planet and to hear this. This guy was such a big deal that year bi-centenial and all. My Gramma cut out every clipping from the Free Press and saved them I remember dying to try to watch every game. THIS IS A SAD DAY !! I would like to say this guy inspired me to throw hard when I pitched as a kid and got pulled for lack of control but man I threw it hard. This reminds me of every thing that was good about growing up in the 70’s i allways felt like the Bird alittle twitchy and never quite fit but man I threw it hard
Big P Detroit
May 31st, 2009 at 7:56 AM
[...] 6. Baseball Star Mark Fidrych Found Dead [...]
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