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Mark Fidrych | How Injury & Neglect Derailed A Detroit Tigers Phenomenon

Press Box Chronicles with Jeff Pearlman

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Today, we're going to discuss one of my favorite baseball players of all time. He was a flash in the pan who was set for a much longer career, but like many athletes, injuries derailed his promising future. Today, we discuss the legend of former Detroit Tigers ace Mark "The Bird" Fidrych.

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20 Comments

@shayno18 11 months ago

Mark was my Landlord in Shrewsbury Mass when I was young. Was lucky enough to play catch with him when I was around 12. Told me I had a "hell of an arm kid" with his awesome smile. Signed the ball "Mark Fidrych ROY 76", and got back to fixing whatever he was at my apartment to fix. What a legend... 💔

@joez203 11 months ago (edited)

I met him once-Detroit Airport in 1992. He was such a nice guy-humble, authentic, appreciative. He was actually flattered I recognized him. I told him how much I enjoyed the whole experience watching him pitch. With a warm and sincere smile, he said (exact words) "Yeah, we sure had fun didn't we, buddy." Rest in peace, Bird. We miss you.

@FrankMacCormack-l9w 10 months ago

He was my teammate, and most of all, my friend. We roomed together in 1976. It was a once in a lifetime experience. Miss him dearly.

@conniebauer4128 11 months ago

Clicked on this video as soon as I saw it!! As a 9-year-old in '76, The Bird was the reason I became a baseball fan.

@BobSarber 11 months ago

I was fortunate to have gotten to know Mark after his baseball career and it convinced me that his antics on the mound were no act. He was authentic. I remember him playing with a juvenile frog while we were supposed to be waiting for ducks in a blind. He was as proud of his asphalt-hauling achievements as anything he accomplished on the mound.

@billflanigin 11 months ago

I was in 8th grade and lived in Michigan when Fidrych broke in with the Tigers in 1976. It's hard to explain the madness and mania surrounding him and his incredible personality. He was a sensation like NO other. I sent him a card to sign decades ago, and he signed and returned it to me. I still have it. Thanks for going down memory lane.

@davidbrown7566 11 months ago

So glad you made this. Born in 67 in Detroit. Love my Tigers and of course love the Bird. Started tearing up as I listened to it. Who cares. If ever there were a player to cry tears of joy and heartbreak it is Mark Fydrich. His time on the mound was a blessing. May he never be forgitten.

@C.Baumann 11 months ago

I know a fair amount about the Bird, but I will always listen to any story about him. What a guy!

@bigbluemsp 6 months ago

He was loved by the city and he was awesome with the kids. He was just a big kid brother to everyone he met.

@mikeparker3422 11 months ago

Thanks for this great job, Jeff. As a lifelong Tiger fan, the awful team of 1975 and a 19 game losing streak the year after Al Kaline retired was so depressing. Then comes 1976 and the phenomenal year of the Bird. RIP Mark, you gave us a summer to remember forever.

@murwah1 10 months ago

I still have a dollar bill he signed for me his rookie year. Dad took me to several Fidrych games that year. Always right near the Tigers dugout. Awesome memories. Thanks man.

@markminter6312 11 months ago

Mark Fidrych might have been the brightest shooting star in American sports history. For one year, he was probably the most popular athlete in the country.

@dincara1 6 months ago

Ok Jeff. I have seen several of your excellent videos now. As a Tiger fan who was a teen during Mark Fidrych's brief run (and loved every minute of it), this is my absolute favorite. Your passion for sports in general is so evident. You are simply the best story teller on YouTube.

@brucehelppie6119 10 months ago (edited)

i grew up in the detroit area. i saw fidrych's first game on tv. i was entertained by all his antics, talking to the ball and grooming the mound. the tigers were playing cleveland and rico carty looked very angered by those antics. i went to a number of games where he pitched, it was an event. the tigers weren't a very good team, but started drawing 54,000 fans when he pitched. he became a sensation on the monday night baseball game against the yankees. mark fidrych brought joy to tigers fans during a pretty dismal tigers era. you did a great job encapsulating the bird and his story.

@timgaughan8242 11 months ago

This one's right up my alley. Was 6 years old in 1976, and The Bird is what made me love baseball.

@KEV-THULHU-01 11 months ago

I remember Bird-Mania. I was lucky enough to have an uncle who had seats on top of the Tiger dugout and I was able to see him pitch. I was only 7. I had one of those cheap painters hats that I had Mark's, Aurelio Rodriguez's and Ron Leflore's autographs. Sadly long gone. I still have a Mark Fidrych glass from Saunders.

@warhawk4580 11 months ago

Fidrych made people feel happy... True Legend

@jdebultra 11 months ago

I grew up in the inner city of Detroit. My sister loved him. My father took us to all of his games. He was loved. Genuine humility. Such an electric atmosphere. He was what we needed in those days. Our team in those days were challenged . He filled the seats and it was a lot of fun.

@pawpawjoe5144 11 months ago (edited)

Fidrych hurt his knee while screwing around in the outfield. He jumped on Rusty Staub's back and when Staub knocked him off, he landed funny on his knee, destroying it. Back in the 70s they didn't have orthopedic surgery. When he came back,he had to change his mechanics which made him tear his rotator cuff. I remember magazine covers with him and Big Bird next to each other. There was a song about him in Detroit.

@24HeySay 11 months ago

In the wake of Watergate and the chaos of the late 60's-early 70's, The Bird appeared in '76, the Bicentennial year, and electrified the nation. I hitchhiked around the country that summer with the plan to be in DC on July 4 (I was 19), and when I got to Detroit, -- which I hadn't planned to go to, but a trucker who I got a ride with was going there, so what the hell -- I decided to go to a Tigers game, and it just so happened that The Bird was pitching against the Yankees. Yes, the game Jeff discusses here. I could only get tickets in the upper deck, but the place was rocking like I've never seen for a regular season game. He was the entire show, with all his great antics but also incredible talent. You couldn't help but just automatically like him. What a trip it was to see him! Years later I was helping a friend out who was staging a signing show and Fidyrich was there. He autographed a ball for me with his nickname below the signature, and I told him I'd been at the famous game. He smiled and said some nice things and was just a really good guy, but later I thought that maybe he'd heard that same claim from about 100,000 people by then. I still have that ball, by the way, rightfully displayed in a prominent place in my home. A little faded but still clear. There has never really been a player like Fidryich before or since. Maybe Rube Waddell, but since we have no footage of him chasing fire trucks from the mound or being distracted by fans, The Bird really stands alone.