"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: MARK FIDRYCH

Time to go ahead and give "The Bird", Mark Fidrych a card in my long-running custom WTHBALLS set, "Classic Baseball":

Does everyone still remember the impact Mark Fidrych had in Major League Baseball that summer of 1976!?
It was incredible, and for a young kid of seven, it was one of the first hypes I remember as a baseball fan.
The antics: talking to the baseball, grooming the mound, and all-around clownish behavior made him an instant favorite of mine back then.
There was so much I was learning about baseball all at once, and one thing I thought I learned was that guys like this were always around. Little did I know that what I was seeing was something truly special.
Well, we all know the story: Fidrych came up later in the season, having only pitched one inning as of mid-May, until a lucky break had him spot start for the Tigers where he ended up pitching a complete game two-hitter. In his first 13 starts, Fidrych had a remarkable 120 1/3 innings pitched. That's MORE than nine-innings a start due to three 11-inning games. Amazing.
By early July, as the media took hold of the story, "The Bird" was 9-1 with a 1.85 E.R.A. and was picked, as a rookie, to start the All-Star game for the American League.
By now he was taking over the baseball world, and everyone loved the show, including me!
He ended his season as Rookie of the Year, with a league-leading 2.34 E.R.A and 24 complete games out of 29 starts with a 19-9 record.
Sadly, after a dead arm the following season and repeated attempts at comebacks, Fidrych hung up the cleats by 1980 and ended up working as a contractor and fixing up his farmhouse back home in Northborough, Ma.
Turns out a torn rotator cuff went undiagnosed for years, and by the time this was discovered in 1985, all hopes of a repair and a comeback to baseball was long gone.
As it seems to happen with so many larger than life characters who come in and out of our lives, Fidrych met an untimely death on April 13th, 2009 at the age of only 54 when the truck he was working under caught his clothing.
I'll always remember that season, just as I was religiously forming my baseball addiction, and this "crazy" bird-man was always on T.V., talking to the baseball and smiling his way into my psyche.

 

REVISITING A BLOG POST FROM 2014: 1976 "FANTASY" MARK FIDRYCH

Thought it would be fun for many of you who found the blog later on to revisit a post from the "early years", September of 2014 more specifically, and my "fantasy" 1976 card for Mark Fidrych, who took the world by storm that season:

 

Fidrych had the world in the palm of his hand that year, my first year following baseball as a wide-eyed seven year old.

The man was everywhere, not only with his stellar play on the mound but with his antics and bright smile that lit up the room.

Here's the original write-up I posted way back when:

"Now, I'll be the first to admit that there was no way Topps could have foreseen Fidrych and the phenomena that was about to ensue.

He wasn't exactly the hot prospect when the '76 season opened, but by the time the all-star game was about to be played, Fidrych was everywhere, and everyone was talking about him.

We all know the story: how he ended up starting the all-star game, how he won 19 games and led the league in earned run average, how he was given the nickname "Bird" and the antics he displayed on the mound.

Sadly we also know how his career was derailed because of injuries, how he was never able to make it back successfully, and how years later he was tragically killed in an accident at the young age of 54.

But the "Bird" legend will always be around, and for those of us lucky enough to have witnessed it, it was incredible.

His 1977 Topps card is STILL one of my all-time favorites solely because I feel it captured that "thing", that personality he had, as a character that comes along all too rarely.

Here's to you Mark!"

1976 ALL-STAR GAME CARD: 1977

On the blog today, we celebrate the 1976 baseball All-Star game with a “missing” 1977 card, featuring the two starters, San Diego Padre Randy Jones and Detroit Tigers Mark Fidrych:

 

 

It was “business as usual” for the National League, as they took their fifth straight All-Star win, beating the American League 7-1, powered by home runs by George Foster and Cesar Cedeno, at Veteran’s Stadium in Philadelphia.

It was an extra festive occasion because of all the Bicentennial celebrations in the “City of Brotherly Love”, with added excitement because of the Major League star of the moment, Mark Fidrych.

The A.L. could only muster five hits off of N.L. pitchers, two by Rusty Staub, singles by Ron LeFlore and Mickey Rivers, and a solo-homer by young Boston Red Sox stud Fred Lynn.

The N.L. jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, tacking on two more runs in the third and three more in the eighth, keeping the game well out of reach from the start.

I’ll always remember this game, as it was the first All-Star game I saw as I was quickly becoming a baseball “junkie” at the age of seven, mesmerized by Fidrych, while rooting for my “hometown” heroes of Thurman Munson, Catfish Hunter, Rivers and Chris Chambliss.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1977 A.L. ERA

On the blog today, we move on to the American League and their top three ERA pitchers of the 1976 season, with a 1977 “expanded league leader” card:

 

 

Of course we begin with the story of that magical season, rookie pitcher Mark Fidrych, who led the league with his 2.34 ERA on his way to Rookie of the Year honors while finishing runner-up to Jim Palmer for the Cy Young Award.

His season truly was something else, as the 21 year-old completed 24 of his 29 starts, tossing four shutouts and throwing 250.1 innings in his debut season, seemingly out of nowhere, ending up with a record of 19-9.

Fidrych was my first baseball “big news” memory as a seven-year-old, as it seemed even in New York City where I grew up, he was on the news every few days for one accomplishment after another.

“The Bird” was a phenomenon, and his quirky personality and on-field antics were, and still are, the stuff of legend.

Just behind him in second place with a 2.35 ERA, none other than Oakland A’s ace Vida Blue, who had another strong season with a record of 18-13 over 37 starts, with 20 complete games, six shutouts and 166 strikeouts over 298.1 innings of work.

That ERA was his lowest mark since his breakout Cy Young/MVP season of 1971, when he led the league with his 1.82 figure, winning 24 games while tossing eight shutouts.

In third place with a 2.43 ERA, young California Angels pitcher Frank Tanana, who had his best Big League season yet, going 19-10 over 34 starts, with 261 strikeouts, 23 complete games and two shutouts while throwing 288.1 innings at the age of 22.

The year prior, Tanana led the A.L. with 269 strikeouts while posting a record of 16-9 over 34 appearances, with 16 complete games and five shutouts, and would bookend his 1976 season with a 1977 campaign that saw him lead the league with a 2.54 ERA over 31 appearances, with a record of 15-9, a league-leading seven shutouts, and 205 K’s over 241.1 innings pitched.

The man was on his way to Hall of Fame glory before injuries forced him to rework his approach, becoming more of a “pitcher” as opposed to a flame-thrower, enabling him to continue pitching through the 1933 season, a solid 21 year career, finishing up with 243 wins, a 3.66 ERA, 2773 strikeouts and 34 shutouts.

Not a bad threesome representing the A.L. right here!

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 1970'S- 1977 MARK "THE BIRD" FIDRYCH MAKES A SPLASH

I can never have enough Mark Fidrych customs in my stable here on the blog, and today I post up another creation for the young man who took the baseball world by storm in 1976:

We all know the story: that Monday Night game, how he ended up starting the all-star game, how he won 19 games and led the league in earned run average, how he was given the nickname "Bird" and the antics he displayed on the mound.
Sadly we also know how his career was derailed because of injuries, how he was never able to make it back successfully, and how years later he was tragically killed in an accident at the young age of 54.
But the "Bird" legend will always be around, and for those of us lucky enough to have witnessed it, it was incredible.
His 1977 Topps card is STILL one of my all-time favorites solely because I feel it captured that "essence", that personality he had, as a character that comes along all too rarely.
In 1976 I was seven years old and just starting to pay attention to baseball, and all I kept seeing was this phenomena of “The Bird”, his act on the mound, that smile, and of course images of him with Sesame Street’s “Big Bird”.
This man came across as a God to my young impressionable mind, and when ripping open packs of 1977 cards soon after, and pulling that card of his, jeez, it was like nothing else.
What an icon of the game for that era. Perfect.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR- 1977 SUB-SET

Next in the fun on-going 1970’s sub-set Awards series are the 1976 rookies of the year for the 1977 set, featuring three players since the National league had a tie:

In the N.L., two pitchers topped the voting for the rookie award, the Reds’ Pat Zachry and the Padres’ Butch Metzger, a starter and a reliever.
Beginning with the starter Zachry, how sweet it must have been to come up with the “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds in 1976, post a record of 14-7 with a sweet 2.74 earned run average, while your team was steamrolling to their second straight championship with a sweep of the New York Yankees in the World Series.
Zachry appeared in 38 games, 28 of which were starts, and put in 204 innings of work for the champs, with 143 strikeouts and a shutout along with six complete games.
For Metzger, (who I admittedly had to use his actual 1977 card image since there was no other usable shot to use), he had an equally impressive debut season, appearing in 77 games for the Padres, posting 16 saves while going 11-4 with a 2.92 E.R.A.
Typical of the era, even though all of his appearances were out of the bullpen, he still logged 123.1 innings of work, striking out 89 batters while finishing a league-leading 62 games.
In the American League, we all know who took home the award, an icon of 1970’s baseball, Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Mark “The Bird” Fidrych, who became a cultural phenomenon on his way to a freshman record of 19-9 with a league=leading 2.34 E.R.A. and completing an astounding 24 of 29 starts!
Those numbers not only got him the rookie award, but also had him start the 1976 All-Star game for the A.L., while also finishing runner-up to Jim Palmer for the Cy Young Award.
Sadly for him (and Detroit), Fidrych developed arm troubles and could never reach that level of success in the Majors again, pitching parts of the following four seasons, winning only 10 more games before calling it a career.
Nevertheless, the mark he left on the game will never be forgotten, joining a select few who would become a symbol of an era beyond the scope of sports.

FAVORITE CARDS OF THE DECADE

The topic of “favorite cards” has been coming up a lot lately, and it’s amazing how many of us all have the same favorites considering the choices of that great decade of the 1970’s.

I never did post one solid “favorites” entry here in the three-plus years of “wthballs”, so here are my top-10 favorites in order:

#1 1976 Johnny Bench

My lord this is the perfect card in my eyes! It has NEVER lost any of it’s luster as far as baseball card perfection. The colors, the “all-star”, the photograph, the legend! 

I’m still in awe of it.

#2 1978 Reggie Jackson

“Mr. October” at his best! That swing immortalized on cardboard, with (of course) the all-star designation, in the hey-day of the “Bronx Zoo”. If it was’t for that ’76 Bench, this would be it!

#3 1977 Rusty Staub

Beautiful action shot of “Le Grand Orange” with the Tigers. Again, the colors, the action, and that “all-star” banner across the bottom. Awesome!

#4 1977 Dave Kingman

The colors along, and how the card design goes with the action shot of “Kong” makes it a classic. But you throw in that color-perfect N.L. All-Star banner at the bottom and it’s a keeper. Great card for the ages!

#5 1979 Rod Carew

I have always loved this card because it was Carew doing what he did best: HIT! Just a great, colorful in-game shot along with that always-present “all-star” banner!

#6 1979 George Brett

Same as with the Carew, this Brett card was a perfect compliment to the Carew in my eyes. I remember pulling this out of a pack for the first time back then and just stopping dead in my tracks. Beautiful card.

#7 1976 Lou Brock

Really, what needs to be said about THIS beauty!? Brock about to do what he did so well during his Hall of Fame career! Another steal coming right up for “The Franchise”!

#8 1971 Thurman Munson

It took me YEARS to finally get this card! I remember plunking $5 for this at a show way back when, and for a kid my age with limited cash, at a SHOW, I gulped a bit, but needed to finally own it. One of the all-time great action-cards, featuring a young Yankee captain. Classic!

#9 1976 Carl Yastrzemski

Just a majestic card of the Red Sox legend, presumedly watching one of his 400+ home runs leave the yard. The colors, the photo, only the second card besides the Munson to NOT be an all-star card.

#10 1977 Mark Fidrych

The only non-action card on this list. It is PURELY because of the time and place, and meaning in my life. I guess you can say my sentimental pick. 1977 was my first year of hard-core collecting, but 1976 was my first year following the game somewhat seriously. And to a seven-year old like me, “The Bird” was bigger than life. He was just awesome!

So when I pulled my first ’77 Fidrych from a cello pack (always remember) and saw that smile, that hair, and the AMAZING rookie trophy AND all-star banner, I was just freaking psyched beyond words!

I STILL get a smile on my face looking at this card!

Honorable mention:

1976 Al Oliver

1979 Larry Bowa

1971 Vada Pinson

1976 Fred Lynn

So what do I gather from all this?

Well, I love action photos on cards, I LOVE the 1976 set, and boy do I love the “all-star” designation on a player’s regular card (instead of a separate all-star sub-set.

I HATED when Topps went back to an all-star sub-set in 1982! Is it just me? Or do any of you out there prefer the 1975-1981 all-star ON the “regular” card?

A 1976 TOPPS MARK FIDRYCH "DREAM CARD"

Thanks to blog reader Tony, I got the bug in my ear to design a 1976 Mark Fidrych card since he took the baseball world by storm that season.

So take a look at the end result:

Now, I'll be the first to admit that there was no way Topps could have foreseen Fidrych and the phenomena that was about to ensue.

He wasn't exactly the hot prospect when the '76 season opened, but by the time the all-star game was about to be played, Fidrych was everywhere, and everyone was talking about him.

We all know the story: how he ended up starting the all-star game, how he won 19 games and led the league in earned run average, how he was given the nickname "Bird" and the antics he displayed on the mound.

Sadly we also know how his career was derailed because of injuries, how he was never able to make it back successfully, and how years later he was tragically killed in an accident at the young age of 54.

But the "Bird" legend will always be around, and for those of us lucky enough to have witnessed it, it was incredible.

His 1977 Topps card is STILL one of my all-time favorites solely because I feel it captured that "thing", that personality he had, as a character that comes along all too rarely.

Here's to you Mark!

NICKNAMES OF THE '70'S #1: "THE BIRD" MARK FIDRYCH

Here's a fun thread I'm starting today: cards celebrating some of the best player nicknames of the 1970's.

The first player profiled will be one of the most iconic: Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, who took the sport, and the country by storm in 1976.

Take a look at my 1977 card design:

I decided to design this series using the card year I felt best represented the player. Sort of like a "special card" that would have been fun to have in sets as we collected throughout the '70's.

In this case Fidrych really did come out of nowhere in 1976, so it wasn't until 1977 that we all could have that card of "The Bird".

Definitely one of the most recognizable players, and nicknames, of the era!

The decade was FULL of awesome nicknames!

So keep an eye out here for future posts on the thread, with guys like "Catfish", "Blue Moon", "Spaceman" and many more!

AN ALL-TIME CLASSIC CHARACTER AND ALL-TIME CLASSIC CARD- MARK "THE BIRD" FIDRYCH

Does everyone still remember the impact Mark Fidrych had in Major League Baseball that summer of 1976!?
It was incredible, and for a young kid of seven, it was one of the first hypes I remember as a baseball fan.
The antics: talking to the baseball, grooming the mound, and all-around clownish behavior made him an instant favorite of mine back then.
There was so much I was learning about baseball all at once, and one thing I thought I learned was that guys like this were always around. Little did I know that what I was seeing was something truly special.
Well, we all know the story: Fidrych came up later in the season, having only pitched one inning as of mid-May, until a lucky break had him spot start for the Tigers where he ended up pitching a complete game two-hitter. In his first 13 starts, Fidrych had a remarkable 120 1/3 innings pitched. That's MORE than nine-innings a start due to three 11-inning games. Amazing.
By early July, as the media took hold of the story, "The Bird" was 9-1 with a 1.85 E.R.A. and was picked, as a rookie, to start the All-Star game for the American League.
By now he was taking over the baseball world, and everyone loved the show, including me!
He ended his season as Rookie of the Year, with a league-leading 2.34 E.R.A and 24 complete games out of 29 starts with a 19-9 record.
When the new 1977 cards came out, I was anxious for my "Bird" card, and it didn't disappoint! I still look into that face and see the playfulness and fun this guy brought to the game, whether it was on the field or giving hilarious quotes during interviews!
That playful look says it all. One of my all-time favorite cards for everything it conveys just from his wide eyes and smile.
Sadly, after a dead arm the following season and repeated attempts at comebacks, Fidrych hung up the cleats by 1980 and ended up working as a contractor and fixing up his farmhouse back home in Northborough, Ma.
Turns out a torn rotator cuff went undiagnosed for years, and by the time this was discovered in 1985, all hopes of a repair and a comeback to baseball was long gone.
As it seems to happen with so many larger than life characters who come in and out our lives, Fidrych met an untimely death on April 13th, 2009 at the age of only 54 when the truck he was working under caught his clothing.
I'll always remember that season, just as I was religiously forming my baseball addiction, and this "crazy" bird-man was always on T.V., talking to the baseball and smiling his way into my psyche.
Here's to you Mark Fidrych. Glad we have this classic card to keep that time in our memories forever.

"The Bird"- The photo says it all...