Nice Fidrych video - brings back great memories

[LGRW_9]

This was posted today on ESPN....

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/48956/just-because-mark-fidrych-1976

Take a few minutes to watch the video. It really brought back great memories for me (I was lucky enough to see him pitch four or five times that magical summer).

And did he ever have some nice backdoor movement on his fastball. He really used to pound the lower part of the strike zone.

 

[turok]

The Bird was really the lone/sole Tigers highlight of that magical Bicentennial summer. I had often wondered if his pitching woes had something to do with losing his personal catcher Bruce Kimm the following year. But I then learned about his torn rotator cuff injury, that could have been mended with surgery.if it hadn't been diagnosed nearly a decade later.

Fidrych even drew huge crowds to the road games that he was SP, b/c his animated mound antics were so unusual and entertaining..

 

[bdemil1]

I was 16 at the time and I still get goose bumps seeing that.
Thanks

 

[manchild98]

That was awesome! And the crowd shots with all the 70's attire is just as good.

 

[af1991]

Amazing how quick he worked after every pitch. Caught the ball from Kimm and immediately stepped on the rubber. Games weren't 4 hours back then. Other notable observations...the umpire's chest protector (gladiator shield), a Rusty Staub/John Hiller sighting, overalls and leisure suits, the dude smoking in the stands, obstructed view seating at Tiger Stadium, and the woman with the transistor radio to her ear (looks just like a cell phone!!!). What a great memories.

 

[djcox2112]

Memories...

I was 14 when the magical summer of 76 happened... What does that make me, only old.. Seriously, he was such a breath of fresh air for not only the year but that whole decade... Tigers were pretty horrible back then, even though I thought a lot of those guys were great, most of them were average at best. Fidrych, Hiller, Leflore had good seasons, but as a team, not very good. Here is a great "refresher" of that "magical" season.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Detroit_Tigers_season

When you look at the record, 4th place, 13 games below .500, second to last place, nothing to remember... But if you ask any Tiger fan of that timeframe, it was probably one of the best seasons of our "Tiger" lives...

 

[SouthOfMackinac]

I like the guy lighting up his cigarette in the stands!

 

[jdeb]

I was at that game with my family. My sister just loved him. My Dad took us to all his games. Our family was in trouble back then and it looked like my Mom and Dad were going to divorce. I believe the Bird saved my parents marriage. It brought the family together and gave us something to enjoy together. My parents are still married today 50+ years.

 

[LGRW_9]

I was at that game with my family. My sister just loved him. My Dad took us to all his games. Our family was in trouble back then and it looked like my Mom and Dad were going to divorce. I believe the Bird saved my parents marriage. It brought the family together and gave us something to enjoy together. My parents are still married today 50+ years.

GREAT story. My congrats to your folks.

 

[turok]

I miss the 70s and 90s...but not so much the 80s, although the Tigers teams were better overall during that decade I used to work ~a long homer's length from the late Tiger Stadium from the mid-70s to mid-80s, and could see the scoreboard and most of the upper deck bleachers from my office desk's window on the 9th floor of the now abandoned & ruined MCS.

It was easy to know when The Bird was scheduled to be SP, b/c the parking lots surrounding the ballpark would begin to fill early and quickly. I attended a few games in '76, but never got to see Fidrych pitch, except when his starts were televised..