Mark Fidrych (1954-2009) signed 3x5

Description

Mark "The Bird" Fidrych (1954-2009), so nick-named for his resemblance to "Sesame Street's" Big Bird, was a right-handed pitcher known for his colorful antics on the mound such as talking to the baseball, and cleaning off the mound with his hand. He pitched 5 seasons for the Tigers (1975-1980), before an arm injury ended his career at age 25. He appeared in 58 games (started 56 & completed 34), with a record of 29-19, 5 shut-outs, and a 3.10 ERA. Fidrych took the 1975 baseball season by storm, by winning the ROY, finishing 2nd in Cy Young, 11th in MVP, and making the All-Star team, with a record of 19-9, 4 shut-outs, and league leading 2.34 ERA & 24 complete games. However arm problems began in 1976, and Fidrych appeared in only 27 games over the next 4 seasons, with his career coming to an end. It wasn't until the mid 80's that it was found out that had had a torn rotator cuff, and had kept pitching with it. After his playing days, he was a farmer, and was found death on 4-13-09, beneath his pick-up trick, which he had been working on. The medical examiner found he had suffocated when his clothing became tangled in the truck's power take-off shaft. He was 54.