About Mark Fidrych
Mark Steven Fidrych ( FID-rich; August 14, 1954 – April 13, 2009), nicknamed "the Bird", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers. Known for his quirky antics on the mound, Fidrych led the major leagues with a 2.34 ERA in 1976, won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year award, and finished with a 19–9 record. Shortly thereafter, however, injuries derailed his career, which ended after just five seasons in the major leagues. == Early life == The son of an assistant school principal, Fidrych played baseball at Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough, Massachusetts, and at Worcester Academy, a day and boarding school in central Massachusetts. In the 1974 amateur draft he was selected in the 10th round by the Detroit Tigers. He later joked that when he received a phone call informing him that he had been drafted, he thought he was drafted into the armed services, not thinking there were any Major League teams considering him. In the minor leagues one of his coaches with the Lakeland Tigers dubbed the lanky 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher "The Bird" because of his resemblance to the "Big Bird" character on the popular Sesame Street television program. == 1976 season == Fidrych joined the Tigers spring training camp in 1976 and made the roster, though he did not make his Major League debut until April 20, pitching only one inning through mid-May. In his third appearance, on May 15, Fidrych made his first major league start, caught by Bruce Kimm, his batterymate in 1975 at Triple A Evansville. He held the Cleveland Indians hitless through six innings and ended up with a two-hit, 2–1 complete game victory, with one walk and five strikeouts.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.