The recent passing of Mark "the Bird" Fidrych is in many ways,the final link to a time of innocence.
Oh,please don't get me wrong,1976 was far from innocent,but the world was a much different place.
A world of local sports at 6 and 11,AM radio and the ever present newspaper was your connection to not only sports,but the world.
Cable was in its infancy and stations that all of us take for granted today,existed either in people's heads or were in the smallest planning stages.
SO when a personality comes out of nowhere to take a season by storm in the seventies,one can deduce that it likely was from sheer personality,not a contrived campaign to get attention.
If Mark Fidrych came along today,you would likely (no matter how charming the personality) be tired of him within a month.
ESPN among others would bombard the country with Fidrych within a matter of weeks and soon he would be just another overexposed athlete.
Baseball had its share of colorful players around this time,Pete Rose,Reggie Jackson to name just a few,but the game had seen no player like "the Bird" in the television age.
Quirky and had there been such a thing as Ritalin in mainstream 1976,Mark Fidrych would have made a ton of money as their top pitchman as his natural personality and exuberance stood out among some pretty stodgy players.
Mark Fidrych was a rock and roll player,you would have never seen Fidyrch on Hee Haw like Johnny Bench for sure and the children and teenagers of the time loved him for it.
Fidrych really hit the national scene in June of 1976 when Monday Night Baseball came to Detroit for Fidrych's start against the eventual American League champions Yankees.
Usually only the top teams were on that broadcast,but the fever was beginning to spread about the righthander that was increasing attendance in Detroit for the mediocre Tigers.
Fidrych fired a complete game in the 5-1 Tiger win,television was enthralled and so were baseball fans.
The Bird finished 19-9 and finished with 24 complete games in 29 starts,compare that to the leader in baseball in 2008-Roy Halladay with 9.
Baseball has changed in that respect and one could argue that Fidrych's career was ruined long term by the events of 1976,but I would wager that he would not change very much considering how well a one year wonder was always remembered.
I was eight years old in 1976,playing organized baseball for the first time and Mark Fidrych was not only an influence on me on the field,but many others.
I can only imagine how many little league managers were driven nuts in the late 70's by antics that kids took from Fidrych and added to their pre-teen repertoire.
I remember quite a few games when I pitched where the impersonations likely drove my dad over the top,talking to the ball,jumping on the mound between pitches like I was on an invisible pogo stick etc.
I can see where that could be annoying and looking back,if I managed myself-I think I would have been ready to pull my hair out!
However,the antics were fun and I don't remember any people getting really mad at me or any other practitioners,it was all in fun unlike many of the look at me players and their choreographed stunts of today.
One never had the feeling that Fidrych was planning any of this routine,just a big gawky kid having a good time and if he made a few bucks off this,then that was a bonus.
Rarely,does it seem like a player that is one of the people make it to the top anymore.
Mark Fidrych seemed like a normal guy that played because it was fun,the money was nice and no one turns money down,but he seemed like he was almost childlike in his enjoyment of what he did and maybe that is why he is fondly remembered by a generation that now is in their forties.
Pirate hooks
Isn't great to see Zach Duke off to such a good start?
2-0 and an ERA under 1!
This is far too small of a sample to say Duke has returned to the form of his rookie season,but perhaps it took this long to finally get the Jim Colborn influence out of his game???
The Pirates host Houston tonight at PNC Park and I will be checking in on them during the Devils Game 1 effort against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Ross Ohlendorf faces off against Mike Hampton at 7:05 weather permitting.
The Pirates and Neal Huntington have lusted for Dodger outfielder Delwyn Young for a long time and when Los Angeles designated him for assignment on Monday,it didn't take a mind much larger than Dave Littlefield's to figure out that either Young was coming to Pittsburgh or the Pirates were going to make every effort to do so.
It was the former as Young was acquired for two players to be named later.
What I wonder about (beside the two players going to LA) is where Young will play in the outfield.
I find it hard to believe that the Pirates were so excited about getting Young over the winter that now that they have him,that they will sit him.
This could be bad news for either Nyjer Morgan or Brandon Moss of the starters or likely (after finishing a possible rehab assignment) making Craig Monroe's stay in Pittsburgh a short one.
I suppose Luis Cruz could be shipped to the minors to keep Monroe as well.
Stay tuned...
Andy LaRoche does not have a hit and leads the team in errors.
So why do I think he should still be in the lineup?
Because you know what you have in Ramon Vasquez,you aren't sure yet in LaRoche (even though it looks pretty bad).
Keep running him out there for a while,give Neil Walker longer in Indianapolis (Walker is off to a good start thus far) and see where everything stands on June 1st....
Finally,I will be back later today (hopefully) with the Devils playoff preview,and later tonight with coverage of both the Devils and the Pirates.
I hope within a week or so to do our annual analysis of the Pirate farm systems top 15 prospects and talk a bit to Wilbur Miller when we do that.
Photo Credits
Two Birds:Lane Stewart-SI
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