Word: fidrych
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Dates: during 1977-1977
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...Fidrych's descriptions of minor league life are the most colorful passages in the dialogue. Traveling through America's rural heartland, he plays in such populous cities as Thetford Mines, W. Va., and Bristol, Tenn. This is old time baseball, where Fidrych says "the game is still played." He recounts the pleasurable squalor of the "Jim Dandy Trailer Park," remembering how they whiled away the listless backwater hours with beer and cards. In contrast, his entry into the big leagues is a step into national limelight. Within two months of his first professional start, he is the best pitcher...
...fans, the true students and lovers of the game, weren't fooled by this nonsense. Intuitively they understood that Fidrych was a ballplayer of the old stamp, the kind that played before the game took on the attributes of a big-money promotional sport. He wasn't another imposter like "Catfish" Hunter, whining about his next million dollar bonus. Nor was he a giant-sized "hot dog" (alias superstar) like Reggie Jackson. He played ball with spirit and enthusiasm, albeit a little oddly--with a sincerity that caught the fancy of all who watched him. And the fans flocked...
...MENCKEN would have enjoyed No Big Deal: certainly in the strangled locutions of Fidrych he would have had dozens of entries for his Dictionary of the American Language. Tom Clark spent five days interviewing Fidrych and the product is this engaging, somewhat sophomoric account of the player's short career. Clark organized the narrative with some witty captions, which are an incongruously deadpan contrast to Fidrych's fractured lingo...
...Fidrych's account begins with his sandlot days in Northboro, Mass., and then relates his quick rise through the minors into major league notoriety. Only die-hard baseball enthusiasts will appreciate this prolonged session of baseball gossip. In fact, such fans will not only appreciate it, they will relish it. The tales of Stubby Overmire, John "The Grod" Grodzinski, the Appalachian League, clubhouse follies--after all, what could be more enthralling...
...have seemed bent on sanitizing and refurbishing the image of the national pastime. They installed flashy vending stands, digital clocks, and electronic scoreboards. They initiated all types of commercial gimmickry. With these vain and deluded efforts, they have hoped to turn baseball into a business. But the fans, like Fidrych, know better...