Northborough: Plaque to be dedicated to Mark Fidrych

By Jonathan Phelps 

Posted Aug 23, 2017 at 3:16 PMUpdated Aug 23, 2017 at 3:16 PM

    

NORTHBOROUGH — During the 7th annual Make Your Mark Softball Tournament on Saturday, the Northborough Historical Society will dedicate a historic plaque to Mark Fidrych.

Fidrych, who grew up in Northborough, became a baseball sensation playing for the Detroit Tigers in 1976. It was his striking resemblance to Big Bird of “Sesame Street,” the lanky, 6-foot-3-inch, curly-haired kid from Northborough that earned Fidrych “The Bird” nickname. The 21-year-old right-hander took the country by storm as a rookie pitcher for the Detroit Tigers during the summer of 1976, even becoming the first baseball player to land on the cover of Rolling Stone.

The marker will be placed at Memorial Field on East Main Street, where Fidrych once played. The dedication will take place at noon.

The tournament benefits the Mark Fidrych Foundation, which continues the legacy of Mark Fidrych through charitable giving.

Last year, Major League Baseball celebrated 40 years since Fidrych’s debut.

Fidrych died in an accident at his farm April 13, 2009. Fidrych, who was 54, owned a trucking company in addition to operating his farm.

As published in the MetroWest Daily News

Rookies settling in atop baseball's leaderboards

JULY 02, 2017 11:48 PM

BY NOAH TRISTER  AP Baseball Writer

The American League's home run leader is a rookie. Same in the National League.

The AL batting race? A rookie is in front there, too.

Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Ben Gamel have made quite an impression already during the first half of this 2017 season, with Judge and Bellinger slugging their way to stardom for the Yankees and Dodgers. Gamel, who played briefly for the Yankees last year before being traded, has settled in nicely in Seattle.

Judge and Bellinger are the two home run leaders, and Judge is also second in the AL batting race — nine points behind Gamel. If they keep this up, it should be another banner year for baseball's top rookies.

Entering Sunday, Judge and Bellinger had already combined for 7.0 wins above replacement, according to Baseball-Reference.com. And Bellinger wasn't even the leader in WAR among NL rookies — he was behind Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland.

It looks increasingly likely that the two Rookie of the Year winners will combine for over 10.0 WAR, which is a reasonably rare occurrence. Here are other years when it's happened. (WAR totals from Baseball-Reference.com in parentheses.)

1964: Tony Oliva (6.8) and Dick Allen (8.8). Oliva and Allen each led his league in total bases, while Oliva also took the first of two straight AL batting titles.

1968: Stan Bahnsen (5.9) and Johnny Bench (5.0). Bench needs no introduction, but Bahnsen had a fine year, too, winning 17 games with a 2.05 ERA for the Yankees.

1972: Carlton Fisk (7.3) and Jon Matlack (6.1). Fisk hit .293 with 22 homers and 61 RBIs to become an immediate standout in Boston.

1975: Fred Lynn (7.4) and John Montefusco (6.4). Lynn pulled off a rare sweep by winning AL MVP honors in addition to Rookie of the Year. He hit .331 with 21 homers and a league-leading .967 OPS.

1976: Mark Fidrych (9.6) and Pat Zachry (3.5). Who could forget "The Bird" and his 19-win debut for Detroit? Fidrych was a clear choice in the AL, but the NL vote was actually a tie between Zachry and Butch Metzger (1.5 WAR).

1984: Alvin Davis (5.9) and Dwight Gooden (5.7). Gooden's 276 strikeouts were a sign of things to come in New York, while Davis hit .284 with 27 homers and 116 RBIs for the Mariners.

1993: Tim Salmon (5.2) and Mike Piazza (7.0). A Los Angeles-area sweep, with Piazza hitting 35 homers for the Dodgers, while Salmon hit 31 for the Angels.

1997: Nomar Garciaparra (6.6) and Scott Rolen (4.5). Garciaparra led the AL with 209 hits. Like Salmon and Piazza in '93, both Garciaparra and Rolen were unanimous Rookie of the Year choices.

2001: Ichiro Suzuki (7.7) and Albert Pujols (6.6). Suzuki won MVP honors for the 116-win Mariners. Pujols hit .329 with 37 homers and 130 RBIs — but with Barry Bonds around, he'd have to wait a few years for his own MVPs.

2012: Mike Trout (10.8) and Bryce Harper (5.1). Trout's season was so stupendous — it took a Triple Crown-winning Miguel Cabrera to deny him the MVP — that it overshadowed Harper's 22 home runs at age 19.

2015: Carlos Correa (4.1) and Kris Bryant (5.9). Correa narrowly beat out Francisco Lindor in the AL vote.

2016: Michael Fulmer (4.9) and Corey Seager (6.1). Seager was a unanimous choice in the NL, and he finished third in the MVP vote.

Here are a few other developments from around baseball:

RUNNING WILD

The Washington Nationals stole seven bases in a 6-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night. Cubs catcher Miguel Montero blamed Jake Arrieta's slow delivery for the steals, and Montero was later cut by Chicago.

The seven steals tied a franchise record for the Nationals, including their time in Montreal. By way of comparison, Washington's regional rivals, the Baltimore Orioles, have 16 stolen bases all year.

HIGHLIGHTS

Comerica Park's spacious center field was home to two tremendous defensive plays this past week. Detroit's Mikie Mahtook ran down a drive by Kansas City's Salvador Perez on Tuesday, making a leaping catch against the wall in right-center. But on Saturday, Mahtook was on the other end of a defensive gem, when Cleveland's Bradley Zimmer made a diving catch in left-center to take a hit away from him.

LINE OF THE WEEK

Mookie Betts, Boston, homered twice and drove in eight runs in a 15-1 win over Toronto on Sunday.

As published in the News Tribune July 2, 2017

Fidrych Foundation to offer scholarship for high school seniors with special needs

Region – The Mark Fidrych Foundation, Inc., is offering tuition assistance to a deserving student who has successfully met the challenges imposed by his or her disability. This year the Foundation will be awarding two $1,000 scholarships to be used toward tuition expenses.

To be eligible, applicants must be on an IEP or physically handicapped, a graduating high school senior, a legal resident of Massachusetts and planning to attend an accredited higher educational institute.

In addition to the application, applicants must submit an essay of approximately 500 to 1,000 words on how they have successfully met the challenges imposed by their disability, and how it has affected them or their family. The application deadline is Wednesday, April 12.

The Fidrych Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of children and adults with disabilities and/or special needs through and with a focus on sports and sports education and various other means of promoting, maintaining, improving and creating opportunities and benefits aimed at improving the lives of such individuals.

The scholarship opportunity is being managed by the Guidance Department at Algonquin Regional High School, 79 Barlett St., Northborough. For applications and more information, contact the office at 508-351-7010.

Published in the Community Advocate April 9, 2017

Letter to the Editor – Northborough Recreation thanks Fidrych Foundation

To the Editor:

We would like to thank Ann Fidrych, Jessica Fidrych and the Fidrych Foundation for their very generous donation to Northborough Recreation in support of sports programming for kids with disabilities. The Fidrych Foundation has been the largest supporter and contributor to our Challenger sports programs for kids ages 5 – 22 with disabilities since its inception three years ago. Originally, this program began with Challenger Little League. Since then, it has grown significantly to include three sports programs a year: baseball, soccer and basketball. On average, 100 to 120 players and volunteer buddies participate in our special needs sports programs.

The success of this program is due to the hard work of the coaches, volunteers and the support of the Fidrych Foundation. We want to personally thank Ann and Jessica both for being so supportive of this amazing program. Without them and the Fidrych Foundation, we would not have been able to grow this program into the success it is today.

We plan to use this donation to continue to grow all three Challenger sports programs. Our goal is to reach out to other communities in order to increase awareness about Challenger sports programming and get more kids with disabilities involved with sports. For those not aware, the Fidrych Foundation is a nonprofit public charity; their mission is to enhance the lives and children and adults with disabilities and/or special needs through and with a focus on sports and sports education. Each year, the Fidrych Foundation raises funds at its annual Softball Tournament and via local agencies that make a difference in the lives of area children and their families.

For more information about the Challenger Program, contact Allie Lane at 508-393-5034 or alane@town.northborough.ma.us. For more information about the Fidrych Foundation, visit www.markfidrychfoundation.org.

Recreation Department