Mark Fidrych Quotes

“When asked the inevitable question of “Does the ball ever talk back?” Mark answered, “The only time that happens is when it’s going over the fence, it yells back to me that I shouldn’t have thrown that pitch.”
― Doug Wilson, The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych

“Mark told reporters why he always threw the ball back to the umpire to exchange for a new one after a base hit. “That ball has a hit in it,” he explained. “I want that ball to get back in the ball bag and goof around with the other balls. I want him to talk to the other balls. I want the other balls to beat him up. Maybe that’ll smarten him up so when he comes out the next time, he’ll pop up.”
― Doug Wilson

“The Bird swooped down out of nowhere in 1976, stole the game of baseball away from the mercenaries, who considered it merely business, and gave it back to the fans.”
― Doug Wilson, The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych

“Whereas Mark Fidrych has awakened the boy lying dormant in every man’s breast, Whereas he has reminded us all that, in an age of free agents and no-cut contracts, baseball is still a game, he has proven baseballs, like people, respond best to kind words and constructive criticism and not to saliva and Vaseline, he made Big Bird as popular with fifty-year-olds as with the playpen set" - Governor Michael Dukakis”
― Doug Wilson, The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych

“In May of 2010, the newest pitching phenom, Stephen Strasburg, played a minor league game in Syracuse. A huge crowd turned out, the largest in the history of the stadium. The game was broadcast on regional television. Gazing over the enormous crowd, the play-by-play man asked his partner on the air if he had ever seen a pitcher draw such a crowd all by himself. The color commentator, ex-Detroit Tiger pitcher Steve Grilli, answered without hesitation, “Yea, Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych—every time he went out.”
― Doug Wilson, The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych

“Everyone playing in the major leagues today owes a debt of gratitude to Mark Fidrych. He brought baseball back to the people. He made it popular again. He helped save the game.” - Willie Horton”
― Doug Wilson, The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych