Death of a Baseball Entertainer and Legend

Mark Fidrych passed away today at the age of 53 as the result of an accident on his farm in Massachusetts.  He was the Rookie of the Year in the American League in 1976 pitching for the Detroit Tigers and finished the season 19-9.  He pitched 24 complete games that season.  Pitchers coming into the game today won't pitch 24 complete games in a 20-year career.

There are some really good stories out there about him.   He would crouch down on the pitcher's mound and fix cleat marks, what became known as "manicuring the mound", talk to himself, talk to the ball, aim the ball like a dart, strut around the mound after every out, and throw back balls that "had hits in them," insisting they be removed from the game.  The best response came from Cleveland outfielder John Lowenstein who said that the next time Fidrych talked to the ball, he was going to ask the umpire to confiscate it and find out what the pitcher had said.  In one of Bill James' baseball books, he quoted the Yankees' Graig Nettles as telling about an at-bat against Fidrych, who, as usual, was talking to the ball before pitching to Nettles. Graig reportedly said to his bat, "Never mind what he says to the ball--hit it over the outfield fence!" Nettles struck out. "Damn," he said. "Japanese bat. Doesn't understand a word  of English."

He was one of the reasons that those of us who love baseball love it so much.  He wasn't the first quirky personality in baseball (not by a long shot--read "Crazy '08" and you'll see why), but he was a great sportsman who could entertain us with his antics and still throw a 92 mph fastball. Baseball could use more like him in these days.

There was a great story in today's New York Times.