1954
Born August 14, 1954
Worcester, MA, USA
Mark Fidrych Marquee
b. August 14, 1954 · Detroit Tigers 1976–1980
Fidrych arrived as one of baseball's immediate sensations in 1976. He went 19-9 with a 2.34 earned run average across 250 innings, completed 24 of 29 starts and threw four shutouts. The season brought the American League Rookie of the Year award, an All-Star selection and second place in Cy Young voting.
He made another All-Star team in 1977 and went 6-4 with a 2.89 average, but pitched only 81 innings. His entire career lasted five seasons, all with Detroit, and produced a 29-19 record, five shutouts, 170 strikeouts and a 3.10 earned run average in 412 innings.
Fidrych made only 16 appearances after 1977, never again working 50 innings in a season. Even so, he completed 34 of 56 career starts, a remarkable concentration of full games in such a short career. His last nine appearances came in 1980. He died in 2009, at fifty-four.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 2 | 1976, 1977 |
| Player of the Month | 1 | 1976 |
| Player of the Week | 1 | 1977 |
| Rookie of the Year | 1 | 1976 |
| The Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year | 1 | 1976 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | DET | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | DET | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | DET | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1979 | DET | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1980 | DET | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | DET | 19 | 9 | 31 | 29 | 0 | 250.1 | 217 | 65 | 53 | 97 | 2.34 |
| 1977 | DET | 6 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 81.0 | 82 | 26 | 12 | 42 | 2.89 |
| 1978 | DET | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 22.0 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 2.45 |
| 1979 | DET | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 14.2 | 23 | 17 | 9 | 5 | 10.43 |
| 1980 | DET | 2 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 44.1 | 58 | 28 | 20 | 16 | 5.68 |
| Career | — | 29 | 19 | 58 | 56 | 0 | 412.1 | 397 | 142 | 99 | 170 | 3.10 |
On this day & linked events
2009
Died April 13, 2009
1976
Major-league debut: Mark Fidrych
Mark Fidrych made a major-league debut on April 20, 1976.
1980
Final major-league game: Mark Fidrych
Mark Fidrych played a final major-league game on October 1, 1980.
Image: MLB / Detroit Tigers, public domain