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| g with Cleveland, 104-96, on Dec. 26 a |
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| 908 Beiträge - Forenjunkie
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October 1st of 1980 wasnt a particularly special day in Blue Jays history. Nike Roshe Run Flyknit España . It was the final home game of the regular season at old Exhibition Stadium. The Jays were days away from wrapping up a 67-95 season. On this day, there were but 12,426 fans in the stands to watch the culmination of a fifth straight losing season. The fans on hand probably didnt even realize they were witnessing something special, something unique. Not the final score. Detroit out slugged the Blue Jays 11-7. So what was it about this game? Well it was the final start of the incredible, yet semi tragic career of Mark Fidrych. On this day the man-child they called the "Bird" went five innings giving up five runs, four of those earned. The Jays effectively ended his day by scoring four runs in the fifth. Ernie Whitt keying the rally with a three run homer, the last "Round Tripper" Fidrych would ever surrender. Fidrych gutted it out through that fifth inning and managed to get the win, to finish his season at (2-3). The starter for the Blue Jays that day was a 23-year-old Dave Stieb. He got torched for seven hits and six earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings and took the loss to fall to (12-15). Greatness was yet to come for Stieb who was in just his second season in the Majors, his first full campaign. For Fidrych, we were just left with memories and the lingering question of how great he might have been. Flash back to May 15th of 1976. The Tigers were home to Cleveland. Their scheduled starter that day had the flu. The manager, Ralph Houk "the Major" of Yankees fame, handed the ball to a 21-year-old long lanky right hander, who reminded a minor league coach of his at Lakeland of the legendary Sesame Street character "Big Bird". All Fidrych did was pitch a complete game two-hitter as he out-dueled Clevelands Pat Dobson in a 2-1 Tigers victory. There were 14,583 people on hand for the game. Remember that number. There were some great Blue Jays and Canadian baseball connections in that game. Rusty Staub was in right field for Detroit. Alan Ashby, a Blue Jay a year later was catching for Cleveland and the two DHs - the Tigers Willie Horton and the Indians Rico Carty - played with the Jays as well. For Fidrych this was only the beginning of one of most magical seasons in baseball history. After losing his next start at Fenway in yet another complete game, 2-0 to the great Luis Tiant, Fidrych would go on to reel off seven straight victories He was more than just a pitcher though, he was a fun loving unassuming kid who just loved playing the game. He would talk to the ball and carefully groom the mound before every inning. He caught the baseball world by storm. Fidrych appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice and was the first athlete ever to appear on the cover of "Rolling Stone" Magazine. In his first 13 starts, Fidrych worked an unbelievable 120 1/3 innings. If you do the math, thats over nine innings per start. How is that possible? Well three times over that span Houk let him go 11 innings. On June the 28th, he was featured in a Monday Night baseball national telecast, Fidrych beat the Yankees 5-1 in just an hour and 51 minutes. Fidrych would go on to start the All-Star game for the American League in his 12th Major League start. He would go on to finish the season at (19-9) for Detroit with a 2.34 ERA. But it was some of his other numbers that were truly astounding. Fidrych made 29 starts from mid-May till the end of the season. He pitched 24 complete games including four shutouts and pitched 250 1/3 innings. Pitchers today are proud just to hit 200 innings. On May 31st, he pitched a game that lasted one hour and 48 minutes. Then in his next start, he bested that taking just one hour and 46 minutes. Another unusual thing about Fidrych was he had his own personal catcher. He was 24- year-old Bruce Kimm, a rookie who played his first game with the Tigers just two weeks before Fidrych made his first start. They worked so well together in that first start Houk kept them as a battery all season. I dont know if that would ever happen today. As great as he was for Detroit that season, the Tigers still finished up the track at 74-87. Somehow, though he was voted Rookie of the Year, he didnt win the Cy Young too. That honour went to the Orioles Jim Palmer. But Fidrychs success on the diamond would be short lived. He injured his knee in the spring of 1977, and later in that season damaged his shoulder. Times being what they were, and medical advances in the treatment of arm injuries were still in their infancy, it wasnt discovered till 1985 that the "Bird" had a damaged rotator cuff. He finished his career with a (29-19) record and 3.10 ERA and 34 complete games in just 58 starts. This is the really incredible number. When Roger Clemens, one of the All-time greats pitched for the Blue Jays in 1997 and 1998, attendance barely increased on days he was on the mound at Rogers Centre. Yet in 1976, a year in which the Tigers drew 1,467,020 fans, more than half of that number showed up for the 18 games Fidrych pitched in. That is incredible. So if you were one of the few who were at Exhibition Stadium on Oct. 1, 1980 consider yourself lucky. You saw the final appearance of one of the most unique talents and colourful characters the baseball world has ever seen. Nike Air Max 2016 España .ca presents the first of our five part season preview, taking a look at the American based teams in the Eastern Conference. Chicago Fire It was a tough 2013 for the Toyota Park faithful, as the Fire followed-up their first playoff season in three years with their lowest-ever finish in 15 MLS seasons. Nike Roshe Run Print Mujer . The Blue Jackets announced the injury through their official Twitter account Friday afternoon. Gaborik, 31, has scored five goals and six assists in 17 games with the Blue Jackets in 2013-14.(Sports Network) - The Toronto Raptors aim for back-to-back wins for the first time this season when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight from Air Canada Centre. The game will be a homecoming for Cavaliers rookie forward Tristan Thompson, who grew up in Brampton, Ont., cheering for the Raptors. Toronto ended a three-game losing streak with a 90-85 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday in the finale of a three-game road trip (1-2) at Madison Square Garden. Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan each scored 21 points to lead the Raptors, who almost blew a 51-34 lead at halftime. "We didnt let their run get to us," DeRozan told the teams official website. "The last couple of games you know teams made runs on us and we let it get to us and we kind of broke down on the defensive end. So tonight we didnt let that happen." Jose Calderon added nine points and 12 assists in a winning cause. The Raptors will also host New Jersey on this quick homestand and lost their only game up north on Dec. 28 versus Indiana. Cleveland has won two in a row and three of four games since losing its season openner and will kick off a seven-game road trip tonight. Air Jordan 5 Retro Comprar. The Cavs just handed Charlotte a 115-101 setback on Tuesday, as rookie and No. 1 overall pick Kyrie Irving scored 20 points and dished out six assists. Antawn Jamison had 19 points and Thompson scored 16 off the bench. Ramon Sessions had a season-high nine assists and 11 points in a reserve role. "Im a little more comfortable with the offense," said Irving, "and I think that can be attributed to becoming closer with [my teammates]." The Cavaliers moved above the .500 mark for the first time since Nov. 9, 2010, when they were 4-3. They wont play again at Quicken Loans Arena until Jan. 17 versus the Golden State Warriors. Big man Samardo Samuels did not travel with the Cavs to Toronto last night due to a short-term Visa/Passport situation and is expected to re-join the team in Minnesota on Friday. Toronto won the first meeting with Cleveland, 104-96, on Dec. 26 at the Q and has taken three of the last four meetings in this series. DeRozan and Calderon each had 15 points to lead seven players in double figures. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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