Mark Fidrych
The quirky pitcher who was known as ‘the Bird’
The quirky pitcher who was known as ‘the Bird’
Mark Fidrych
1954–2009
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Making a police state out of the liberal university'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
8 looming climate tipping points that imperil our planet
The Explainer New reports detail the thresholds we may be close to crossing
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Try 6 free issues of The Week Junior
Spark your child's curiosity with The Week Junior - the award-winning current affairs magazine for 8-14s.
By The Week Published
-
Benjamin Zephaniah: trailblazing writer who 'took poetry everywhere'
Why Everyone's Talking About Remembering the 'radical' wordsmith's 'wit and sense of mischief'
By The Week UK Published
-
Shane MacGowan: the unruly former punk with a literary soul
Why Everyone's Talking About The Pogues frontman died aged 65
By The Week UK Published
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Legendary jazz and pop singer Tony Bennett dies at 96
Speed Read
By Devika Rao Published
-
Martin Amis: literary wunderkind who ‘blazed like a rocket’
feature Famed author, essayist and screenwriter died this week aged 73
By The Week Staff Published
-
Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk legend, is dead at 84
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Barry Humphries obituary: cerebral satirist who created Dame Edna Everage
feature Actor and comedian was best known as the monstrous Melbourne housewife and Sir Les Patterson
By The Week Staff Published
-
Mary Quant obituary: pioneering designer who created the 1960s look
feature One of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century remembered as the mother of the miniskirt
By The Week Staff Published