Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, Former Detroit Tigers Pitcher, Dies

Mark "The Bird" Fidrych was reported dead on April 13, 2009. The apparent cause of death is attributed to an accident that he suffered when he was working on his pickup truck at his home.

One of the most outspoken and colorful personalities to ever play Major League Baseball, Mark Fidrych was also a very successful baseball player when he was on the field. He was one of the Detroit Tigers' most popular players in their history, but this guy was also well accepted all throughout the league for his natural ability to attract and impress fans of all kinds.

Like stated before, he backed up his great personality with great accomplishments on the baseball diamond. In his rookie season in 1976, he was able to win the Rookie of the Year for the American League. Butch Wynegar, a catcher for the Minnesota Twins, was the only other rookie in the race that year, which said a lot about how successful Fidrych was.

Amazingly, Fidrych was also mentioned in the American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award races that year. He finished second in American League Cy Young voting to Jim Palmer from the Baltimore Orioles. Despite his early career success, he was injury prone, and ended up playing his last game in October of 1980. A torn rotator cuff was the main culprit in his early departure from the Major Leagues.

Today's modern game does not have an awful lot of big time fan friendly personalities. One player that could be directly compared with Fidrych is Manny Ramirez. Ramirez is known for his on the field antics, and also for his outspoken personality.

However, the apparent difference in his comparison is the fact that Manny is a position player (outfielder) and Fidrych was a pitcher. Fidrych also was well respected all around the league, and Manny has certainly had his issues with certain individuals and fanbases.

Fidrych was 54.

Source: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2009/04/fidrych_killed.html