The year Detroit flew high with 'The Bird'

[Faygo Kid]

He led the league with a 2.34 ERA while creating a sensation around the league. He threw a two-hitter in his first major league start and started the All-Star game for the American League.

During the first five weeks of the season, Fidrych, a tall, flashy fireballer from Massachusetts, languished in the bullpen, making only two brief appearances in relief. But on May 15, 1976, manager Ralph Houk gave him his first major league start against the Cleveland Indians. He responded to the challenge by retiring the first 14 batters he faced and finished with a two-hitter and a 2-1 victory.

Fidrych's nickname was hung on him by a teammate in Bristol of the Appalachian League, where he was sent after he signed with the Tigers in 1974, when the teammates noticed his resemblance to Big Bird on Sesame Street.

Fidrych wasn't even on the roster before the final spring training cut in 1976. He was invited to spring training as a non-roster pitcher and wore number 62, a high number usually given to players who aren't expected to make the team. After learning he had made the team, he told a Detroit News reporter in an April 1976 interview that "If they want me to be batboy all season I will."

After losing to Boston, 2-0, 10 days after his first start, he reeled off eight straight victories. But it was his performance on national TV against the mighty New York Yankees -- chattering to the ball, grooming the field, and handcuffing Yankee batters -- that attracted the attention of fans from all over the country. . . http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=5

[Captain Hilts]

1. I worked at the Mets AAA ballpark the night he retired. Sad. nt