New stories about “The Bird” emerge in Mark Fidrych biography
From Brad Petrishen at The Herald News on March 25, 2013, with mention of SABR member Doug Wilson:
In 1974, while he was a rookie in the minor leagues, Mark Fidrych and several teammates heard a bad car crash near the dumpy trailer park where they were living in Bristol, Tenn.
“It could have blown up at any moment,” Doug Wilson, author of a new book on Fidrych released today, said of the smoking car. Fidrych, who was 19, heard cries for help coming from inside the car.
“Mark didn’t even hesitate. He just jumped through the window,” Wilson said, dragging out a child and then going back inside for a second one as his stunned teammates watched.
“It was like no big deal,” said Wilson. “The next day they went to the ballpark” like nothing happened.
The story, told to Wilson by former Detroit Tigers pitcher Bob Sykes, was not one the 1976 Rookie of the Year told often.
“It’s something he never really mentioned in any interviews,” said Wilson of Fidrych, who acquired the nickname ‘The Bird.’ “He never tooted his own horn.”
“The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych,” contains many little-known anecdotes and stories about the Northborough pitcher who mesmerized the country in the Bicentennial summer before an arm injury abruptly derailed his Major League baseball career.
Read the full article here: http://www.heraldnews.com/state/x2082719500/New-stories-about-The-Bird-emerge-in-Fidrych-biography
Originally published: March 26, 2013. Last Updated: March 26, 2013.