Mark "The Bird" Fidrych dead at 54

[bravosfan]

Former Major League pitcher Mark Fidrych has died, the Worcester District Attorney's office announced on Monday.

The D.A.'s office said Fidrych was found by a family friend underneath a pickup truck at his Northboro home around 2:30 p.m. He appeared to have been working on the truck at the time of the accident.

Fidrych was known as "The Bird" for his colorful antics on the mound. He was also famous for talking to himself and to the baseball.

Fidrych was a Northboro native and played his high school ball at Algonquin Regional and Worcester Academy.

Drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1974, he won Rookie of the Year honors in 1976. A torn rotator cuff ended his career at the age of 29.

http://wbztv.com/local/mark.Fidrych.dies.2.983934.html

One of the great characters of the game.

RIP

[Psyblast]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych deat at 54

Rug just got yanked out from under me.

...

[Beantown]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych deat at 54

....

He's from my hometown. Went to my HS. I helped a friend interview/write an article on him three and a half years ago for the Algonquin newspaper.

I just finished watching "United 93" and "World Trade Center" and then find this out....to say I'm sad would be a great understatement. RIP.

[Aggies7]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych deat at 54

Very sad. Very Sudden. RIP

[Lintyfresh85]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych dead at 54

Damn. That sucks. RIP.

[RedbirdFan18]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych dead at 54

R.I.P Mark Fidrych. Wow, first Nick Adenhart in a car crash at age 22, then Harry Kalas, now Fidrych. All suddenly. R.I.P. them all. They were all excellent people. This is just unbelieveable. All of them suddenly. All from the same sport. And Fidrych and Kalas in the same day, all three of them in the same month. This is just horrible.

[Skerik]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych dead at 54

Wow. They say bad things come in threes, but....damn. RIP.

A few days ago I was watching Fidrych's nationally televised gem against the Yankees in 1976 on MLB Network. Very weird.

[ezekiel55]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych dead at 54

R.I.P Mark Fidrych. Wow, first Nick Adenhart in a car crash at age 22, then Harry Kalas, now Fidrych. All suddenly. R.I.P. them all. They were all excellent people. This is just unbelieveable. All of them suddenly. All from the same sport. And Fidrych and Kalas in the same day, all three of them in the same month. This is just horrible.

Thats exactly what I was thinkin...what a week.

[SPTO]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych dead at 54

A few days ago I was watching Fidrych's nationally televised gem against the Yankees in 1976 on MLB Network. Very weird.

You didn't happen to tape it did you?

Anyways I never seen the guy pitch but i've seen enough clips and heard enough stories to know he was a true character. They don't make guys like him anymore and now he's gone

What a tough day, losing three famous people in one day. I will quote a guy from another message board I go to:

"One threw the ball, one called the ball and the other swallowed the ball(s)"

R.I.P. to The Bird.

[JohnDoe8865]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych dead at 54

Wow. They say bad things come in threes, but....damn. RIP.
Very weird.

I was just thinking the same thing. What a horrible stretch for baseball.

[fistofrage]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych dead at 54



My most prized possession as a kid.....

Rest in peace, man.

[rsox]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych dead at 54

R.I.P Mark Fidrych. Wow, first Nick Adenhart in a car crash at age 22, then Harry Kalas, now Fidrych. All suddenly. R.I.P. them all. They were all excellent people. This is just unbelieveable. All of them suddenly. All from the same sport. And Fidrych and Kalas in the same day, all three of them in the same month. This is just horrible.

This season is definitely starting out on a depressing note.

[Coug00]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych dead at 54

R.I.P Mark Fidrych. Wow, first Nick Adenhart in a car crash at age 22, then Harry Kalas, now Fidrych. All suddenly. R.I.P. them all. They were all excellent people. This is just unbelieveable. All of them suddenly. All from the same sport. And Fidrych and Kalas in the same day, all three of them in the same month. This is just horrible.

And I just saw Bruce Snyder, the old ASU and Cal football coach, died from cancer today. The hits just keep coming. What a brutal week for baseball and the sports world. I'll be happy if we never have a week like this again.

[ZM Punk]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych dead at 54

Just watched him for the first time a couple of days ago on the MLB Network. That guy was definitely a character.

R.I.P. Mark.

[ChubbyBanana]

Re: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych dead at 54

Just watched him for the first time a couple of days ago on the MLB Network. That guy was definitely a character.

R.I.P. Mark.

They just showed a Complete Game of his on MLB Network. I was watching it after family easter on Friday.

RIP Indeed.