Fidrych Yankee Interview

This is the post-game Interview of Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych, after his fame was spread to the nation by beating the Yankees on Monday Night Baseball in June of 1976.

[@shawnmcnamara6032]

Was 9 years old in 1976. The bird made my summer that year along with Ron Leflore. My first year following the Tigers and those 2 got my love affair with the team started.

[@loyaldude10]

what a guy, the Bird was--and a character. RIP Mark---never will be another like you

[@finch45lear]

This was such a great night for baseball. The "Bird" was a such a good guy a real shot of excitement.

[@richiebambara3980]

Baseball needs more Mark Fidrych's now a days!!

[@belair55dream]

He was something special. He won 19 games on a last place team and started the all-star game all in his rookie season ! I couldn't wait for his next start. RIP Mark

[@gargould7186]

And he didn't have his first start until mid May 🤔 🚬 I remember watching his first game, I was 19 years old.

[@123xconnieb]

I remember watching this game live on television. It was the summer of 1976 and I was 9 years old. I didn't much follow baseball up until then, but that night I became not only a fan of The Bird, but also a really big baseball fan -- which I still am to this day.

[@aacrobatt1705]

123xconnieb I couldn't see it live and the game was blacked out in the local Detroit area.

[@aacrobatt1705]

1976 was a tough time for me my dad and grand father passed away 2 months apart my mom was going through tough times was taking it out on me and my 2 brothers when Bird mania was happening me growing up in suburban Detroit Pontiac to be exact being a Tigers fan this helped pulled me through it all Bless his soul.

[@wedgenstein]

He always worked so fast, almost as fast as Bob Gibson, who was averaging about 8 seconds between pitches in some games... Fidrych's games sometimes came in under 2 hours long... Phenomenal player and even better human

[@sultanofswat9382]

That was when baseball was fun, now sometimes watching a game can be like watching paint dry

[@Frank_Cohen]

Charming the socks off nation here. What genuine humility and wonder from him here.

[@ErichLRuehs]

This video has Mark Fidrych, Bob Ucker and a young Warner Wolf. How the heck does it only have 39, 733 hits?!

[@lesmorrow226]

His energy is so infectious. No wonder everyone loved him.

[@loyaldude10]

Wow! This was a guy who was so down to earth and real-he didnt try to change who he was even when he was the star. Damn shame his career was over so quickly.

[@josephmcfarland8442]

A crying shame, I was 12 the summer of 1976.

[@ingridclarke9054]

Mark Fidrych, the absolute best.

[@gatoguts]

i love the way he gives props to his teammates ... many players do that as a matter of routine today, but bird is obviously speaking from his heart

[@NeoTurboManiac78]

I wish there were more athetes that can handle inteviews the way Fidrych did. You can certainly sense his emotion when he spoke and was very descriptive, unlike today's athletes who speak with a very monotonuos tone, which feels robotic, and they tell you nothing.

[@garylobo348]

He was so damn honest.. and innocent in this interview, it's just so refreshing. When Uek asked him about just pitching to one catcher only, he fumbled around a bit, but finally said, no, i like pitching to all of them. Beautiful

[@tozdaddy]

"i couldnt ask for no much more" purest statement any man has said

[@fluffandskipper]

I agree. Jon Heder has the personality and look to pull it off. I think he would do an awesome job with it, and it would be a great tribute to this one of a kind player who left us way too soon.

[@deedonnerramone4757]

Remember that summer of 1976, it was hot and poor in Detroit - NW Side, Grand River and Lasher. The Bird was the sensation and the town was abuzz with the possibilities, but unfortunately, it came crashing down as did most good things in Motown.

[@dunskie]

Thanks for posting. Much appreciated. Luv ya Bird.

[@timlamb9428]

follow up on the bird. starter in the all star game and rookie of the year to boot if I remember right. great great guy. love the bird :) rip :(

[@TomasLaverty1000]

Thank you for posting this.

[@germansanchez1291]

This player good pitcher forever

[@ChristopherCudworth]

He knew pitching for sure. A savant.

[@MrClownEvil]

"ya know" lol This guy is one of a kind. Need more players like this in todays money hungry league

[@richiebambara3980]

He should of win the Cy Young award in 1976.

[@fdsuperstar2547]

Who did?

[@keithgoblue]

@@fdsuperstar2547 Jim Palmer

[@justicia5783]

"should have won" "of" = preposition "have" = auxiliary(helper)verb for the past participle("won") of the main verb, "win"

[@davidvanzant2019]

I loved him

[@DanielLDees]

Rest in Peace. Great One!

[@loungelizard5000]

I miss The Bird. I was 8 years old growing up in Detroit in 1976. He was such a hero to all of us kids at the time. Everybody had T-Shirts that said "The Bird Is The Word" LOL. The two newspapers in Detroit, the News and The Free Press had a free "iron-on" in the paper for the kids. Those were the days. Thanks so much for sharing this great vid.

[@louthebody]

Oh I remember this game like it was yeaterday. They showed it on Monday Night Baseball. Ch 7 in N.Y. I was going on 14 years old and a Yankee fan, still am. I was so pissed that Mark Fidrych made my Yankees look bad. I was just a kid then, but that day I hated Mark Fidrych. May he rest in peace he was a great pitcher in his short career.

[@williamsnyder5616]

That's the way it sometimes goes, Lou. The Tigers had a truly mediocre team in 1976. I know because I was a sports writer for a little paper in Ypsilanti,MI and I covered most of Mark's starts. But when Fidrych pitched, they played like champs. This wasn't the only Tiger on a bad team who stopped the Yanks. In the 1950s, Detroit had a guy named Frank Lary (who just died). Taters (his nickname in Alabama) had something like a 21-9 lifetime record against the Yankees. He was amazing against New York. On one Fourth of July (I think it was 1961.), Lary hit a homer into the upper deck of Yankee Stadium early in the game and stole home to win the game. Casey called him "The Little Bulldog." But the Little Bulldog was like a French Poodle against teams like the A's and Senators.

[@fdsuperstar2547]

Remember watching the game as a 15 year old Yankee fan but I was kinda rooting for the Bird

[@DanHolmes-o9b]

"and luck would have it!"...so humble lol

[@williamsnyder5616]

Oh, if only Mark had had a healthy career, it is possible the Tigers would have won more than just the one World Series title in 1984. I think it is possible they could have won in the strike-shortened 1981 season, 1983.1986, 1987 and 1988.One extra great pitcher to go with Morris and Petry (and for one year, Milt Wilcox) might have made the difference.

[@jollyjoe9281]

even my sisters stopped what they were doing that night and watched this game...the Bird was a compelling figure in baseball history...Ralph Houk ruined his arm by having him throw 250 innings that year, 24 complete games for a 21 year old, good grief!

[@jamesbowen8960]

Ralph Houk had nothing to do with fidrych ruining his arm. Fidrych ruined his arm because he got caught having sex with another man's wife and the guy hurt him with bodily harm.

[@dunskie]

The day Mark died , Harry Kalas in Philly died too. Kalas got most of the attention. Then, on the day The Tigers chose to honor Mark's memory at the ballbark, it was Jackie Robinson Day all throughout the major leagues. It was all about Jackie. Even in Detroit. Come on Detroit. Get it right, retire Fidrych's number 20. Do some fucking thing right. This kid was one in a million and a Tiger GREAT. There was no one bigger in ALL of baseball in 1976-77. DETROIT TIGERS - Do Right by your Bird.

[@davidvanzant2019]

I was living in a little town in eastern Kentucky called east McDowell I was about 13

[@Aubreykrendale]

I was a little leaguer in '76. The "Bad News Bears" was the hit movie. And we had Mark Fidrych. This guy was pure magic. Everyone loved The Bird. Only the good die young.

[@fordhamdonnington2738]

They should have made a movie in the 90s and have John C. Reilly as the Bird woulda been great.

[@sultanofswat9382]

I was just a kid and it was a fun time

[@generalbullmoose]

What was that on Warner Wolf's head? I think it just growled at me.

[@joeambrose3260]

Phuckin' torturous. I don't have a bionic ear !

[@rickrobitaille8809]

Great days 🎯😂🇨🇦🇺🇸

[@bones007able]

A guy from MA with the new england accent... yet Detroit claimed him as their own....that kinda stuff did not happen everyday...

[@generalbullmoose]

00:59 - Look at the stats. He only had 37 Ks at this point, so he certainly wasn't overpowering. Yet his WHIP was less that 1 (the video with the last out of this game showed he had 13 BBs at this point). But I remember that his fastball had movement on it, and he kept the ball down. Unfortunately, when he lost his arm, he didn't have the veteran savvy to survive, unlike someone like Frank Tanana.

[@louthebody]

@TomTIGER69 Thanks for sharing your story, and sorry about your friend.

[@fluffandskipper]

I have to agree with Richard James. Jon Heder would do it well.

[@dharma11]

@timothyarts Mark Wahlberg

[@raamjames1]

@timothyarts Jon Heder.