Mark Steven Fidrych, also known as “The Bird,” was an American pitcher for Major League Baseball (MLB). He played baseball and was born on August 14, 1954. He pitched for the Detroit Tigers throughout his entire career (1976–1980).
Fidrych, who was well-known for his eccentric pitching antics, finished the 1976 season with a 19-9 record, led the major leagues with a 2.34 ERA, and won the AL Rookie of the Year award. However, soon after, injuries put a stop to his career, which was over after only five seasons in the major leagues.
The Tragic Death of Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych
After retiring from baseball, Mark Fidrych moved back to his hometown of Northborough, Massachusetts, where he established a home on a 107-acre farm with his wife Ann and daughter Jessica. Fidrych worked as a contractor hauling gravel and asphalt in a ten-wheeler dump truck when he wasn’t working on the farmhouse. He volunteered on the weekends at his mother-in-diner. law’s He would work with the young players on their fundamentals when he had time at the neighbourhood baseball field.
On April 13, 2009, Fidrych was working underneath his dump truck performing maintenance when something terrible happened. He was discovered by a friend who discovered him entangled in the truck shaft and dialled 911. Too late now. Fidrych had choked to death. The state medical examiner’s office declared his death to be an accident a few days later.
District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. stated in a statement that the man “appeared to have been working on the truck when his clothes got tangled in the truck’s power take off shaft.”
At Comerica Park on April 15, 2009, the Tigers honoured Fidrych with a moment of silence and a tribute video before the game. A few months later, Jessica Fidrych honoured her father by delivering the honorary first pitch at Comerica Park. Jessica received a thunderous applause from the audience for “manicuring the mound” like her father before throwing the pitch.
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Injuries Cut Short a Promising Career
Fidrych suffered a knee injury in spring training to begin the 1977 season, but he persevered and helped the Tigers get off to a strong start. Early in July, Fidrych then experienced his arm “going dead.” It wouldn’t be recognised that he had torn his rotator cuff until 1985.
Fidrych pitched through the discomfort up until the All-Star break, where he was selected to participate for a second year running. Because of the injury, he turned down the invitation. He had a 6-4 record and a 2.89 ERA for the season but never pitched again.
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Fidrych took the mound for the following three seasons, entertaining the crowd with his outrageous antics, but his injured shoulder prevented him from regaining the form of his rookie year. The Tigers released him in 1981. He spent a few seasons pitching for the Boston Red Sox organisation, but he was never able to return to the major leagues. At age 29, he took his retirement.
Mark Fidrych Becomes an Overnight Sensation in 1976
Fidrych rose to fame for the Detroit Tigers over the course of the following two months thanks to his antics and, more importantly, his pitching, which included back-to-back complete games where he threw an amazing 11 innings each time. When The Bird defeated the dominant New York Yankees 5-1 on June 28, 1976, in front of 47,855 fans at Tiger Stadium and millions more watching on national television, he became a household name. Fans wouldn’t let them leave the stadium after the game until he made a curtain call from the dugout.
Fidrych finished the 1976 season with a 19-9 record, an MLB-best 2.34 ERA, and an incredible 24 complete games. He was named Rookie of the Year and placed second in the Cy Young voting.
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