wow, these things happen in 3's.... Adenhart, Kalas, and The Bird...crazy.....RIP Bird you were entertaining and until the strange knee injury shagging flies in during batting practice you took the Baseball world by storm. The bird was the WORD in '76. Heaven just improved its Baseball Team and Broadcast booth these past few days. RIP one and all...... http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2009-04-13-fidrych-dead_N.htm
I loved when he would talk to the baseball. RIP brother. may God bless your family and give them peace.
Mark Fidrych found dead Former All-Star pitcher Mark "the Bird" Fidrych was found dead Monday in an apparent accident at his farm. He was 54. Worcester County district attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. saids a family friend found Fidrych about 2:30 p.m. Monday beneath a pickup truck at his Northborough, Mass., farm. He appeared to be working on the truck, Early said. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/04/13/fidrych-death.ap/index.html This guy was something to see when he came up. RIP
Great little article.... http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6270335/14498688 Amazing 19-9 as a rookie in 1976, but 24 Complete games out of 29 starts is mind blowing in today's game.
Chronology of 1976 season (from wiki page) • May 15: Fidrych won his first major league start. Fidrych pitched a complete game, allowing only two hits in a 2-1 victory over the Indians. Fidrych took a no-hitter through six innings, but gave up a single to Buddy Bell in the seventh. Aside from his fine pitching, Fidrych drew attention for talking to the ball during the game‚ and patting down the mound each inning. Tom Veryzer had the game-winning RBI for Detroit with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. After the game, Rico Carty of the Indians said he thought Fidrych was so up for the game that he thought Fidrych "was trying to hypnotize them." Mark Fidrych, "No Big Deal" (1977), p. 131. • May 25: Fidrych pitched well in his second start, holding the Red Sox to six hits and two runs, but the Tigers were shut out, 2-0, by Luis Tiant. Pitching in his home town, Fidrych gave up a home run to Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski. When asked how it felt to give up a home run to Yaz, Fidrych said: "It blew my mind. It blew my goddam mind. Just because ... hey the only reason it blew my mind was because, here I am, goin', I'm in front of my -- Fenway Park." Mark Fidrych, "No Big Deal" (1977), p. 146. • May 31: Manager Ralph Houk let rookie Fidrych go 11 innings for a complete game, 5-4 win over the Brewers. Fidrych gave up a run in the top of the 11th inning, but the Tigers rallied in the bottom of the 11th on singles by Chuck Scrivener, Jerry Manuel, and Tom Veryzer. Ron LeFlore had two triples in the game. • June 5: Fidrych pitched his second straight 11-inning complete game, beating Bert Blyleven and the Texas Rangers, 3-2. Ben Oglivie scored the winning run in the top of the 11th, and The Bird pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 11th against the heart of the Rangers lineup (Mike Hargrove, Toby Harrah, and Jeff Burroughs). • June 11: "Bird"-mania began to take hold in Detroit. A crowd of 36,377 showed up in Detroit for a Friday night game, as Fidrych faced Nolan Ryan. Fidrych gave up only one earned run, and the Tigers came out on top, 4-3. The Tigers won on a walk-off single by Alex Johnson in the bottom of the ninth inning, with Ron LeFlore scoring the winning run. • June 16: The Tigers drew 21,659 on a Wednesday night to watch Fidrych win his fifth game. Fidrych held the Royals to five hits and two earned runs. The Tigers trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Tigers rallied for two runs off singles by Dan Meyer and Alex Johnson, and a walk by Aurelio Rodriguez. Mickey Stanley ended it with a walk-off single to right field, driving in Johnson. • June 20: The Tigers beat the Twins, 7-3, in Minneapolis, as Fidrych extended his record to 6-1. Jason Thompson hit a three-run home run in the 3rd inning for the Tigers. • June 24: Fidrych drew 26,293 fans to Fenway Park for a Thursday night game, as the Tigers won, 6-3. Jason Thompson homered and Fidrych pitched another complete game. • June 28: Fidrych was in the spotlight, as the Tigers faced the Yankees on Monday Night Baseball. In front of a crowd of 47,855 at Tiger Stadium and a national television audience, "The Bird" talked to the ball and groomed the mound, as the Tigers won, 5-1 in a game that lasted only 1 hour and 51 minutes. After the game, the crowd would not leave the park until Fidrych came out of the dugout to tip his cap. In his book "No Big Deal," Fidrych said: "Everyone picks out that game. Why? Why is that game -- just 'cause it's on national TV and I won? Say it was national TV and I lost. Right?" Mark Fidrych, "No Big Deal" (1977), p. 149. • July 3: As the country prepared to celebrate the Bicentennial, Mark Fidrych shut out the Orioles 4-0 in front of a sell out crowd of 51,032 at Tiger Stadium. Fidrych gave up only four hits and extended his record to 9-1. • July 9: Pitching in front of another sell-out crowd (51,041) at Tiger Stadium, Fidrych held the Royals to one run in nine innings, but Dennis Leonard shut out the Tigers. The final score was Royals - 1; Tigers - 0. • July 13: Fidrych gave up two runs and was tagged as the losing pitcher in the All Star Game. The National League won, 7-1. • July 16: Fidrych won his 10th game, a 1-0 victory over the A's. Another big crowd (45,905) showed up to watch "The Bird" do his thing on the mound at Tiger Stadium. • July 20: A crowd of over 30,000 showed up on a Tuesday night in Minneapolis to watch "The Bird." It was The Bird's 13th start, and the Twins released 13 homing pigeons on the mound before the game. According to Fidrych, "they tried to do that to blow my concentration." Mark Fidrych, "No Big Deal" (1977), p. 174. It didn't work. Fidrych pitched another complete game and got his 11th win, 8-3. Rusty Staub and Ron LeFlore homered for the Tigers. • July 24: Fidrych drew another big crowd to Tiger Stadium (37,405), but lasted only 4-1/3 innings. John Hiller got the win in relief, as Ben Oglivie hit a home run in the eighth inning to give the Tigers a 5-4 win over the Indians. After the game, Fidrych was interviewed on live television, and a small controversy arose when Fidrych said "bull****" on the air. Fidrych recalled: "He [ NBC commentator Tony Kubek ] said, it looked like you were gonna cry. I just said, No, I wasn't about to cry, I was just bull****. ... And then I said, Excuse me. I said, I didn't mean to swear on the air but I just showed you my feelings." Mark Fidrych, "No Big Deal" (1977), p. 170. The next day, Fidrych was fined $250 by Bowie Kuhn. Fidrych, "No Big Deal," p. 172. • July 29: Fidrych took a loss despite pitching a six-hit complete game and not allowing an earned run. The Orioles shut out the Tigers, 1-0, as Lee May scored an unearned run in the fourth inning on an error by Detroit second baseman Pedro García. Rusty Staub tripled in the bottom of the fourth, but did not score as Willie Horton and Alex Johnson followed with ground balls to third base. • August 7: Fidrych got his 12th win against the Indians, a complete game six-hitter, by a score of 6-1. Ben Oglivie went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Dan Meyer and Ron LeFlore scored two runs each. • August 11: The Tigers beat the Rangers, 4-3, as Fidrych notched his 13th win over Gaylord Perry. The Tigers drew 36,523 for a Wednesday game in Detroit. Rusty Staub and Willie Horton both hit home runs for Detroit. • August 17: Despite a losing record, the Tigers drew a season-high 51,822 fans on a Tuesday night, as Bird-mania reached a frenzy. The game featured Fidrych against Frank Tanana. Fidrych did not disappoint the fans, as the Tigers won 3-2. Fidrych went to 14-4. • August 25: The Tigers beat the White Sox, 3-1, in front of 40,000 fans on a Wednesday night in Detroit. Rookie Fidrych held the White Sox to five hits in a game that lasted only one hour and 48 minutes. • September 3: The Tigers lost to the Brewers, 11-2, as Fidrych had the worst outing of his young career, and Mike Hegan hit for the cycle for Milwaukee. Fidrych gave up nine runs (seven earned) in 3-2/3 innings. • September 12: The Tigers beat Dock Ellis, 3-0, in front of 52,707 fans at Yankee Stadium. Fidrych pitched a complete game shutout for his 16th win. • September 18: Fidrych and the Tigers beat the Indians, 4-0. Willie Horton had a double, a home run, and two RBIs, and Fidrych held the Indians to five hits for his 18th win. The Bird continued his pattern of fast-paced games, as the game lasted only 1 hour and 48 minutes. • September 22: Without The Bird pitching, the Tigers did not draw well. On this date, a season-low 3,616 fans showed up at Tiger Stadium to watch the Indians shut out the Tigers, 3-0. • October 2: In his last start of the 1976 season, Fidrych got his 19th win, beating the Brewers, 4-1. Fidrych held the Brewers to five hits in a game that lasted 1 hour and 46 minutes. • November 5: The Cy Young Award is announced, with Jim Palmer taking the award over Fidrych.
