One Wonderful Year, and a Bit More UPDATED
Mark “the Bird” Fidrych has died at 54. Here’s a link to the AP story.
Here’s a bit more of the story from the perspective of someone who watched him during his one magical year and the aftermath. I lived in the Detroit area back then. 1976 was amazing for the Tigers and Detroit. If you’ve read the story, and you need to as I won't retell it here, you got a bit of the flavor of his personality. As was said then, he danced to a different drummer. He lived in his own world, a sort of man-child.
He smiled for no reason that we knew of and we delighted in his joy and success. Over the winter we waited for the next installment. The papers told us the Tigers had signed him to a five year contract for, I think it was, $100,000.00, even then a low sum for what seem to be his potential. His explanation? If you play five years you get a pension. Maybe he could portend.
If I have my years right, that spring he was being himself and hopped a fence during spring training and was never the same.
UPDATED: Here's a nice piece by a Detroit sports writer that includes the fence story and an encounter with the then current POTUS:
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090413/SPORTS0104/904130435/1361/Fun+followed+Fidrych
He reported for spring training each year, he never could regain the magic; but, he gave his five years and more with the Red Sox afterward.
I read of deaths and tragedies everyday. It is seldom that I feel a stab of pain and smile at the same time. But, that happened to me today.
I’m hoping that there are some mounds to groom and baseballs to talk to in Heaven.
10 comments:
Thank you for writing this, Dave. Perfect.
it has been a rough few days in baseball. Thanks for taking care of the Bird, now I don't have to blog!
Professional sports has become so serious that anyone who enjoys themselves stands out.
Off the top of my head, he and John Daly are the only two that come to mind.
Sports Illustrated has a nice remembrance of him: LINK
Thanks guys. A correction is in order. Fydrich got his five years in; but, the contract he signed after the '76 season included a $25,000 bonus and three years for $255,000 total.
Red told me you had written an entry to The Bird, so I had to come and check it out. I wrote one, too. As much as I loved Gates Brown and Aurelio Rodriguez, it was Mark who made me a baseball fan. And makes me smile always. How can you not smile when you think of that magical year and his fabulous personality.
Hey Kathleen, I saw your piece too and enjoyed it. Funny how everything I've read about him is so positive and mostly about his personality.
Exactly...every single comment at the Freep was positive - no trolls whatsoever.
Thanks. I wish I had met him, but at least I got to see him pitch oh so long ago.
24 complete games in 29 starts in 1976. The Tigers, between their desperation for pitching and desire to fill the seats, ruined Fidrych's long-term career.
Rest in peace.
My brother played semi-pro in his late teens and we saw The Bird pitch in a BABF tournament ion Johnstown, PA. He was probably 19 years old. His talent was obvious, but his persona got into the fans heads ALMOST as much as it got into the batters.
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