The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych

In 1976, America was enthralled by a young, ultra-talented Detroit Tigers pitcher who patted down the mound, conversed with baseballs, shook the hand of teammates in mid-inning, and signed autographs until late at night. America celebrated this fresh-faced phenom who embodied renewal after Vietnam, Watergate, and other national upheavals, and personified a new generation's aspirations. As with all meteors, Fidrych faded rapidly. Injuries hampered him, but his legend has not died, testimony to his incandescent personality and disdain for material things. This latest biography takes readers through Fidrych's life, including his many happy years in retirement in Massachusetts and, regrettably, his too-early accidental death in 2009. Wilson (Fred Hutchinson and the 1964 Cincinnati Reds) makes plain by means of a skillful weaving of distant accounts and contemporaneous stories, many raising a tear, that Mark deserved his celebrity and our admiration.