Fidrych Fame: The Bird Beats The Yankees

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Channel: Bourke457

Views: 229,932

Keywords: Mark Fidrych, The Bird, Monday Night Baseball, Yankees

Id: sMSDo3BX5Ds

Length: 4min 40sec (280 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 23 2009

Reddit Comments

[u/alphathums]

From the Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fidrych

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, 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. In his first 13 major league starts, Fidrych threw 1201⁄3 innings, an average of more than 9 innings due to three 11-inning stints. By early July, he was 9–1 with a league-leading 1.85 ERA, and was picked to start the All-Star Game for the American League. The All-Star appearance was the 12th start of Fidrych's major league career. He went on to win 19 games, leading the league in ERA (2.34) and complete games (24). Fidrych won the American League Rookie of the Year Award, getting 22 of 24 votes, and finished second in voting for the AL Cy Young Award.

In the process Fidrych also captured the imagination of fans with his antics on the field. He would crouch down on the pitcher's mound and fix cleat marks, what became known as "manicuring the mound", talk to himself, talk to the ball, aim the ball like a dart, strut around the mound after every out, and throw back balls that "had hits in them," insisting they be removed from the game. Mark Fidrych also was known for shaking everyone's hands after a game. On June 28, 1976, he pitched against the New York Yankees in a nationally televised game on ABC; the Tigers won the game 5–1. After a game filled with "Bird" antics in which he and his team handily defeated the Yankees, Fidrych became a national celebrity. Every time he pitched, Tiger Stadium was jam-packed with fans who became known as "Bird Watchers". Fidrych's fan appeal was also enhanced by the fact that he had his own "personal catcher". Because Tigers coaching and managerial staff were somewhat superstitious about "jinxing" Fidrych's success, Bruce Kimm, a rookie catcher, caught each of Fidrych's outings.

What a cool guy

[u/fantasyfest]

I went to lots of Fydrich's games. the electricity was unreal. He would get on his hands and knees and fix the mound. He would not use a ball that got a hit on it. He filled Tiger stadium every time he pitched and soon every opponents stadium was filled too. There has never been aything like it is baseball.