Whether you thought Detroit's Mark Fidrych was a breath of fresh air or simply quirky, one thing everyone agreed on was that he had a great year in 1976. Fidrych, nicknamed "the Bird," would talk to the ball and dig holes on the mounds, but most importantly, get batters out. Fidrych went 19-9 with 24 complete games and a 2.34 ERA. He won Rookie of the Year; was named to the All-Star team and finished second in the Cy Young Award voting. Unfortunately, arm troubles cut his career short and he won only 10 more after his rookie season. Phillip Lee recently caught up with "the Bird" to find out what he's been doing?

Phillip Lee: What are you doing these days?
Mark Fidrych: I have a 10-wheeler dump truck. I'm with Amarillo & Sons. They're out of Worcester (Mass.). I haul dirt, asphalt, relay tool pipe, drain pipe for road construction, basically.

PL: And, how long have you been doing that?
MF: Oh, I've been doing this since 1986.

PL: Let's talk about 1976 and what a great season that was for you.
MF: Well it started out when I made the club in spring training. It was exciting. During the season, you're just observing everything. Finally, at the end of the year, you take it all in and say, "wow." It was kind of crazy.

PL: Talk about winning the Rookie of the Year.
MF: Well, when you win the Rookie of the Year . . . and all of a sudden people were asking you to go to different banquets and this and that. That's when you looked at it and went "wow." The first year I had was a great, phenomenal year. You only get rookie of the year once, the first year. After that, you can't get it. So, that was a great accomplishment.

PL: When did you start developing arm trouble.
MF: At the beginning of the season, '77, after I had knee surgery.

PL: How did your shoulder problems begin.
MF: It just came.

PL: Was it from throwing a particular pitch?
MF: No, nothing like that. It just developed. It was one of those things.

PL: When did you finally realize it was time to call it quits?
MF: Back in 1983. It was just never coming around. I found out I had a torn rotator cuff. Back in the '70s, they didn't work on too many rotator cuffs.

PL: What's your fondest memory of 1976?
MF: My fondest memory is probably making the big club.

PL: When did you think you had a chance at (making the team)?
MF: Well, when you get invited to the big league camp, that's when you say, "Oh, ok, you went over there, but you never thought you were going to really make it because you were only invited. And, then, you end up making it. It was a big thing.

PL: Did you know during spring training that you were good enough to make the team?
MF: No, you never think that because you didn't have much time. I didn't know what was going on over there. I didn't know what they looked for. I played in the minor leagues.

PL: What were your first thoughts when you heard you made the club?
MF: My first reaction was to call home to talk to my father to tell him what happened.

PL: What did he say?
MF: Well, I can't really remember. He said, "Wow, you finally made it. It all paid off, all the work that you did in the younger days."

PL: In 1976, you were a media darling. You had a lot of quirks. Talk about those.
MF: That's the way I always pitched. When I was in little league, my father taught me to fill up the hole in front of the mound and level the thing out. That's just what I was doing. The writers wrote a lot of things about this and that. It was just a different style from what they'd seen before.

PL: The media always said that you were talking to the ball. Was that true?
MF: I was basically talking to myself. I was just telling myself to slow down, throw strikes, keep it low. Things like that.

PL: Did some of the things that the writers wrote, or the media caught onto, was any of that stuff blown out of proportion, or was there anything that was really outrageous that just made them make stuff up about you?
MF: They didn't make things up. They just have their little ways of writing. I didn't read every article that was ever written out about me, because I didn't get all the papers.

PL: How did you get the nickname, "the Bird?"
MF: I got that from Jeff Hogan. In my rookie season in rookie ball in the Appalachian league. I played for him.

PL: Why did he call you that?
MF: Well, he said I reminded him of the Sesame Street bird. He said, "You're always going over here . . . running here . . . you're just all over the place . . . always talking" . . . things like that.

PL: How hard was it to walk away from baseball?
MF: It was hard because it was something you've done all your life, and you enjoy going to the ballpark, and all that. So, all of a sudden to say, "It's done and over." It's tough. But life goes on. That's the way I look at it.

PL: Was there any kind of regret because it was an injury that ended your career?
MF: No. My career was there. That's it and you take what was given to you. That was my whole philosophy. I have to say I was a lucky guy to get what I got.

PL: Now, did you try to stay in baseball after you retired.
MF: No, I did not.

PL: You decided to just walk away from it?
MF: I just said I wanted to go home and regroup.

PL: So, you don't miss the game?
MF: You always miss the game. I just wanted to regroup.

PL: Do you want to do any coaching or be in management with a baseball team?
MF: I would think of it. But, right now I've got a family and other things, and I really don't want to ... it depends on what kind of situation it is. That's all I look at.