Mark Fidrych Biography

Mark Steven Fidrych, nicknamed The Bird, was an American professional baseball pitcher born on August 14, 1954, and passed away on April 13, 2009. In 1976, he led the major leagues with a 2.34 ERA, earned the American League Rookie of the Year award, and posted a 19–9 record. Fidrych was selected in the 10th round of the 1974 amateur draft by the Detroit Tigers. He gained attention during his debut for talking to the ball while on the pitcher's mound, strutting in a circle after each out, patting down the mound, and refusing to let groundskeepers fix it in the sixth inning. Fidrych pitched eight innings in his debut, allowing two earned runs, but received his first major league loss after Luis Tiant shut out the Tigers. On June 11, he pitched a complete game in a 4–3 victory over the California Angels before a crowd of 36,377 at Tiger Stadium. Fidrych was named to the 1976 American League All-Star team, becoming the second Tiger player aged 21 or younger to earn the honor since Al Kaline in 1955.