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Fidrych had "a talent that was exceptional and an approach to his game that was both uninhibited and refreshing," said author Donald Honig, noting that Fidrych "talked to the ball, shook hands with his infielders after good plays, cavorted with the pure joy and unrestrained enthusiasm of a Little Leaguer." The 6'3" righthander with flowing, blond curls was the talk of baseball in 1976, starting and losing the All-Star Game, and going 19-9 for the Tigers with 24 complete games and a 2.34 ERA - both AL-bests. Arm trouble limited him to just ten ML wins after his Rookie of the Year showing. (TJ)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » May 15, 1976: Mark Fidrych wins his first ML start, a complete-game 2-hit 2–1 victory over the Indians. The Bird holds the Indians hitless for six innings, talks to the ball, and tamps down the mound before toeing the rubber each inning. » June 28, 1976: With a national television audience looking on, Mark "The Bird" Fidrych beats the Yankees 5–1 in Detroit. » July 3, 1976: The Tigers rookie sensation Mark Fidrych shuts out the Orioles 4–0 for his 8th straight victory. » July 13, 1976: The National League emerges victorious in the annual All-Star Game by a score of 7–1. George Foster, one of seven Reds position players on the squad, homers, drives in three runs, is named the game's MVP. Rookie Mark Fidrych gives up two runs and takes the loss. It is the NL's 13th win in the last 14 games. » September 3, 1976: The Brewers crush the Tigers and Mark Fidrych, 11–2, as Mike Hegan hits for the cycle and drives in six runs. » November 5, 1976: Baltimore's Jim Palmer easily outpoints Detroit's sensational rookie Mark Fidrych to win the AL Cy Young Award. » March 21, 1977: Mark Fidrych, the 1976 Rookie of the Year, rips the cartilage in his left knee and will undergo surgery in ten days. The injury will effectively end the fabled career of the Bird. » April 7, 1978: Mark Fidrych scatters five hits in beating Toronto, 6–2. The Tigers get homers from Milt May, Phil Mankowski, and Jason Thompson. The Bird, trying to recover from tendinitis that limited him to 11 starts in 1977, will win only three more ML games. » April 12, 1978: Ranger P Rogelio Moret announces he is going home rather than pitch. In the locker room, the pitcher freezes in a catatonic state, his extended arm holding a bathroom slipper. He is taken to a psychiatric facility and will go on the disabled list for most of the season, appearing in just six more games. Texas loses, 3–2, to Detroit and Mark Fidrych (20). Oliver's 2-run home run in the 1st is all the Texas scoring off the Bird. » April 13, 1978: The Tigers take two from Texas, winning 6–2 behind Dave Rozema, and 3–2 behind the pitching of Mark Fidrych. The Bird gives up a 2-run homer in the first, but zeroes after that. » April 22, 1978: Mark Fidrych, who had to leave his last game when his shoulder tightened, warms up but is unable to start against Texas. But the Tigers top the Rangers, 7–6, in 10 innings, on the strength of John Hiller nifty four innings of shutout relief. » August 12, 1980: Tiger Stadium is packed with 48,361 fans to see Mark Fidrych's return to the big leagues, a 5–4 loss to the Red Sox. The 1976 American League Rookie of the Year will go 2-3 with a 5.73 ERA in what will be his final attempt to come back from injury, and his last ML season. » June 29, 1983: Mark Fidrych, in the 2nd year of an extended comeback attempt with the Pawtucket Red Sox (International League), retires. The 1976 American League Rookie of the Year was 2–5 with a 9.68 ERA.