More sad news for the baseball world.
Mark "the Bird" Fidrych
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Has there ever been a player in your life that you felt like you could relate to because he was about "your age", had the same outlook on life, or if he wasn't in baseball would have "fit in" with your group of friends? The Bird was that player to me, and many of my friends. In WI we had Robin Yount as our "young" baseball idol, but Fidrych was the kid next door, the one who made it big but you didn't know how, the one who made you pee your pants laughing so hard, the kid your parents "wondered about", and the one you went to if you needed a "pick-me-up".
Today I lost a neighborhood friend I'd never met.
Today I lost a neighborhood friend I'd never met.
RZ1!...exactly my thoughts as well......I was in HS when he was pitching and he was just as you stated....the accidental athlete....just happended to be good at throwing the ball.....but you are right on with the fact that Fidrych was the kid next door, the one who made it big but you didn't know how, the one who made you pee your pants laughing so hard, the kid your parents "wondered about", and the one you went to if you needed a "pick-me-up".
quote:Originally posted by rz1:
Has there ever been a player in your life that you felt like you could relate to because he was about "your age", had the same outlook on life, or if he wasn't in baseball would have "fit in" with your group of friends? The Bird was that player to me, and many of my friends. In WI we had Robin Yount as our "young" baseball idol, but Fidrych was the kid next door, the one who made it big but you didn't know how, the one who made you pee your pants laughing so hard, the kid your parents "wondered about", and the one you went to if you needed a "pick-me-up".
Today I lost a neighborhood friend I'd never met.
Interesting thoughts!
I saw Mark Fidrych pitch at the height of his powers in 1976 in old Cleveland Stadium. I was 16 years old at the time. The Indians were terrible back then and typically drew less than 5,000 per night. On this particular night, a walk-up crowd of over 45,000 came out to see the bird pitch. RIP Mark - you were one of a kind!