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Mark the Bird Fidrych
JWP
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in Sports Talk
The Detroit tigers honored mark Fydrych.
USN & USAF retired 1971-1993
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I was just getting into baseball when he started pitching for Detroit - I only remember his curly hair and he was kinda goofy - but that's all I remember..............
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
He was a super pitcher. Detroit just over pitched him and left him in the finish too many games. He talked to the ball and looked like Big Bird on the mound. I saw him pitch in Oakland and yjr park was almost sold out too. He was one of a kind ballplayer and was really good.
USN & USAF retired 1971-1993
Successful Transactions with more than 100 Members
Fidrych somehow was even better his second year than his first, which no one remembers because it got cut short. He was 6-2 with a 1.83 ERA heading into the start where he tore his rotator cuff. The Tigers abused the heck out of him, just criminal. He injured his knee in spring training in 1977 (shagging fly balls for some reason), leading to him starting the season on the DL. Made his first start on May 27. Detroit protected their superstar by..........having him throw 7 complete games in 8 starts coming off a knee injury. Insane.
In 1976, as a rookie and keeping in mind he didn't make his first start until May 15, he threw 24 complete games in just 29 starts. 4 of those starts were 11+ innings!
It's infuriating the way he was misused even by 1970s standards.
He was still just barely 31 years old (in 1985) when it was discovered he had a torn rotator cuff that could be repaired and potentially lead to a comeback. By then, Mark was done with baseball and pain and just wanted to live quietly so he didn't have the surgery.
His story is such a joyous and sad one all combined. A big "what if?" story combined with massive popularity that continues on throughout Michigan to this day, all ending in a tragic accident on his farm when he was just 54.