Mark Fidrych

Pitcher

Born: August 14, 1954
Worcester, Massachusetts

Died: April 13, 2009 (aged 54)
Northborough, Massachusetts

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut

April 20, 1976, for the Detroit Tigers

Last MLB appearance

October 1, 1980, for the Detroit Tigers

MLB statistics

Win–loss record

29–19

Earned run average

3.10

Strikeouts

170

Teams

Detroit Tigers (1976–1980)

Career highlights and awards

Mark Steven Fidrych (/ˈfɪdrᵻtʃ/; August 14, 1954 – April 13, 2009), nicknamed "The Bird", was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire career for the Detroit Tigers (1976–1980).

In 1976, Fidrych led the major leagues with a 2.34 ERA, won the AL Rookie of the Year award, and finished with a 19–9 record. Shortly after, injuries piled up and his major league career ended after just five seasons.

The son of an assistant school principal, Fidrych played baseball at Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough, Massachusetts, and at Worcester Academy, a day and boarding school in central Massachusetts. In the 1974 amateur draft he was selected in the 10th round by the Detroit Tigers and later joked that when he got a call saying he had been drafted he thought he was drafted into the military not thinking there were any teams looking at him. In the minor leagues one of his coaches with the Lakeland Tigers dubbed the lanky 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher "The Bird" because of his resemblance to the "Big Bird" character of the Sesame Street television program.

Fidrych made the Tigers as a non-roster invitee out of the 1976 spring training, not making his Major League debut until April 20, and only pitching one inning through mid-May. He made his first start in the Tigers' 24th game of the season, on May 15 against the Cleveland Indians, and only because the scheduled starting pitcher had the flu. Fidrych responded by throwing six no-hit innings, ending the game with a 2–1 complete game victory in which he gave up only two hits. The first hit he gave up was a single to Buddy Bell. Fidrych drew attention for talking to the ball during the game‚ and patting down the mound each inning. After the game, Rico Carty of the Indians said he thought Fidrych "was trying to hypnotize them."

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Wikipedia