Mark Fidrych

The quirky pitcher who was known as ‘the Bird’

Mark Fidrych

1954–2009

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For a brief moment in the 1970s, Mark Fidrych was one of Major League Baseball’s most memorable characters. The Detroit Tigers pitcher would often talk to the ball, drop to his knees to smooth the mound, and jump over the white infield lines on his way to and from the dugout. His 6-foot-3 frame and masses of curly hair drew comparisons to the Sesame Street character Big Bird and got him dubbed “the Bird.” Fidrych was also an outstanding player who made the cover of Sports Illustrated and was 1976 American League Rookie of the Year.

Fidrych grew up in Northborough, Mass., where a Tigers scout spotted him playing for a youth league, said The New York Times. Just two years later, in 1976, he triumphed in his first game as a starter in the majors, throwing seven no-hit innings and allowing only two hits against the Cleveland Indians. And he never let up. In that “astonishing” season, Fidrych threw 24 complete games, the most in the American League in 1976. His 2.34 earned run average was the best in all of baseball that year.

“In Detroit, where the team hovered near the division cellar, Fidrych’s theatrics and cheerfully goofy demeanor turned the Tigers into a hot ticket,” said The Boston Globe. Fidrych would often strut around the mound following an out, or refuse to pitch baseballs that had been previously hit by opponents. When he was slated to pitch, the size of the crowd generally doubled. After a haircut, girls would rush to scoop his locks off the floor. “But his success was fleeting.” In 1977, Fidrych tore knee cartilage and was placed on the disabled list. That July, he suffered a rotator cuff injury and never fully recovered. “He won just 10 big league games after his rookie year” and, following a stint in the minors in the Red Sox organization, left baseball at 29.

Fidrych retired to Northborough, where he sometimes waited tables at a diner owned by his in-laws. He was found dead on his farm, crushed by a Mack truck on which he was working.