The latest edition of MLB Network Presents dives deep into one of baseball’s most colorful characters from the past 40 years: Mark “The Bird” Fidrych. Fidrych burst onto the scene with the Detroit Tigers in 1976, starting the All-Star Game for the American League, winning the AL Rookie of the Year award, and finishing as the runner-up in the AL Cy Young voting to Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. He made his final major league appearance in 1980. So, what the hell happened?
The documentary is split into two, perhaps three if you want to be generous, parts, with the first half exploring Fidrych’s rise to prominence with the Tigers and how he became a folk hero following a nationally televised complete game win over the Yankees in June of 1976. A handful of people, including Fidrych’s wife and daughter, watch the game at a bar in his hometown of Northborough, Massachusetts while prominent people throughout baseball and the Michigan sports landscape, including Peter Gammons, both Jim and John Harbaugh, Willie Horton, John Smoltz, and Bob Uecker, help provide some context on the Fidrych phenomenon.
Narrated by actor, Detroit native and Tigers fan Tom Selleck, The Bird features interviews with Fidrych’s wife and daughter, Ann and Jessica Fidrych, along with several of Fidrych’s hometown friends and family as they gather to watch his Monday Night Baseball performance. Also included are interviews with Hall of Famer and former Tigers broadcaster Al Kaline, Fidrych’s former Tigers teammates Willie Horton, Bruce Kimm and Rusty Staub, longtime Tigers manager and Fidrych’s minor league manager Jim Leyland, Hall of Famer and Michigan native John Smoltz, Tigers fans and Michigan natives John Harbaugh and Jim Harbaugh, Hall of Fame award winners Peter Gammons and Bob Uecker, longtime broadcaster Warner Wolf, and journalists Dan Epstein and Dave Marsh.
The second half of the film focuses on the sudden decline and fall of Fidrych. The Tigers rushed him back to the mound following a knee injury in 1977, and his year ended in July following a shoulder injury, caused by Fidrych modifying his delivery because of the knee injury. He made just three starts in 1978, four in 1979, and nine in 1980 before the Tigers released him in October of 1981, bringing an end to a once-promising career.
Fidrych’s post-baseball life and sudden death is also covered, and as you’d expect, it gets a bit emotional given the circumstances surrounding his death.
If you’re a younger fan who only knows Fidrych’s name and maybe his Sports Illustrated cover with Big Bird, The Bird is a recommended watch. As I’ve said on numerous occasions, stories like Fidrych’s are the ones that deserve to be covered by the MLB Network Presents series – often forgotten in the annals of baseball history, yet incredibly meaningful to those who lived as they played out.
The Bird airs on MLB Network at 10 PM on Sunday, July 10th.
