Sorry Tom Hanks -- Sometimes There IS Crying in Baseball

Another Tigers-related post from our foreign correspondent and resident nickname expert, Blylevin's Beard, on the recent passing of Mark Fidrych:

When I conjured up Mark Fidrych in my recent Reboarding the D-Train post, it was mostly in the context of his inability to fulfill the hopes of Tiger fans who anxiously awaited his fantastic comeback in the 1978, 1979 and 1980 seasons. With the news of The Bird's passing, however, my hope is that we can all focus on the fact that for one absolutely brilliant season, every single time he took the mound, fans were glued to their TV sets, perched on the edge of their bleacher seats, rubbing their palms together in anticipation of what combination of weirdness and wizardry he'd bring to the ballpark that day. That's what Joy in Mudville is all about - celebrating the game of baseball, moment by moment, pitch by pitch, inning by inning. The Bird always seemed thrilled with his single season in the sun much moreso than he was disappointed in the frustrations that followed it, and I hope we can follow his lead, accentuating the positive as we reflect on his life and career. May one of baseball's great players and most original personalities Rest in Peace.