When we first heard about 'The Bird': Tigers' Mark Fidrych burst onto scene 40 years ago
Friday, May 13, 2016 at 10:00AM 
Detroit tigers pitcher Mark "The Bird" Fidrych discusses the state of affairs with the ball during the season opener against the Toronto Blue Jays at Detroit, April 7, 1978. Fidrych gave up two walks, scattered five hits and struck out five as Detroit won 6-2. (AP Photo/JCH)
Mark "The Bird" Fidrych talked to the baseball.
But the gangly Detroit Tigers pitcher spoke to fans in this state and captured the imagination of the nation thanks to his bizarre antics, happy-go-lucky spirit and dominating run as a rookie.
Sunday marks the 40-year anniversary of Fidrych's first start, a complete-game, two-hit gem in a 2-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on May 15, 1976. Fidrych carried a no-hitter through six innings before Buddy Bell, who became the Tigers' manager 20 years later, got a hit to lead off the seventh. Fidrych struck out five and walked one that day, when he faced three batters over the minimum.
"He really messes up your concentration," Bell said at the time about Fidrych's antics. "He's always talking to himself. ... All you could hear was, 'OK, ball, we're going to do this.'"
Fidrych, a fidgety 6-foot-3, 175-pound right-hander from Massachusetts, was a 10th-round draft pick of the Tigers in 1974. He was basically an unknown commodity.
During Fidrych's magical rookie season in 1976, the 21-year-old talked to himself, groomed the mound and soaked up a ton of attention while he fashioned a 19-9 record and major league-best 2.34 ERA. Fidrych was named AL Rookie of the Year after leading the American League in complete games (24) and he finished runner-up to Jim Palmer for the Cy Young Award.
Fidrych hustled on and off the field, and generally he displayed sheer joy playing the game. He was one of few bright spots for the Tigers in 1976, as the team finished 13 games below .500. According to a Rolling Stone story, Fidrych drew more than 900,000 fans at ballparks in 1976.
Fidrych was nicknamed "The Bird" in the minor leagues by a coach who said he reminded him of the Sesame Street character.
A knee injury and, later, arm injuries derailed Fidrych's career, which spanned five seasons and resulted in a 29-19 record and 3.10 ERA.
Fidrych died on April 13, 2009 at the age of 54 after an accident on his farm in Northborough, Mass.
BOXSCORE FROM FIDRYCH'S FIRST START:
Tigers 2, Indians 1
FIDRYCH'S SEASON-BY-SEASON STATS:
• 1976: 19-9 record (29 games started) with 2.34 ERA; 250.1 IP, 217 H, 76 R, 65 ER, 97 SO, 53 BB
• 1977: 6-4 record (11 games started) with 2.89 ERA; 81 IP, 82 H, 29 R, 26 ER, 42 SO, 12 BB
• 1978: 2-0 record (3 games started) with 2.45 ERA; 22.0 IP, 17 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 10 SO, 5 BB
• 1979: 0-3 record (4 games started) with 10.43 ERA; 14.2 IP, 23 H, 17 R, 17 ER, 5 SO, 9 BB
• 1980: 2-3 record (9 games started) with 5.68 ERA; 44.1 IP, 58 H, 35 R, 28 ER, 16 SO, 20 BB
NOTABLE TIGERS ROOKIE PITCHER DEBUTS:
Rookie records and ERAs, plus debut start results for notable Tigers pitchers:
Tommy Bridges (3-2 record, 4.06 in 1930)
• Earned win in 7-5 decision over St. Louis Browns on Aug. 25, 1930
• Final line: 8.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 SO, 12 BB
Hal Newhouser (0-1, 5.40 ERA in 1939)
• Took loss in 3-0 setback to Cleveland Indians on Sept. 29, 1939
• 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 SO, 4 BB
Mickey Lolich (5-9 record, 3.55 ERA in 1963)
• Took loss in 4-2 setback to Baltimore Orioles on May 21, 1963
• Final line: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 7 SO, 3 BB
Denny McLain (2-1 record, 4.29 ERA in 1963)
• Earned win in 4-3 decision over Chicago White Sox on Sept. 21, 1963
• Final line: 9 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 8 SO, 4 BB
Mark Fidrych (19-9 record, 2.34 ERA in 1976)
• Earned win in 2-1 victory over Cleveland Indians on May 15, 1976
• Final line: 9 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 SO, 1 BB
Jack Morris (1-1 record, 3.74 ERA in 1977)
• Took loss in 3-2 setback to Texas Rangers on July 31, 1977
• Final line: 9 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 11 SO, 5 BB
Justin Verlander (0-2 record, 7.15 ERA in 2005)
• Took loss in 6-0 setback to Cleveland Indians on July 4, 2005
• Final line: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 SO, 3 BB
LINKS TO INTERESTING FIDRYCH MATERIAL:
Rolling Stone feature from 1977
Society for American Baseball Research
Note: Stats in this story come from baseball-reference.com. The quote from Buddy Bell is believed to have come from the work of the Detroit News' Dan Ewald in 1976, sourced from a 2014 Detroit Metro Times story by Dave Mesrey.
Published by © 2016 MLive Media Group. May 13, 2016
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