In the column, Henning pointed to specific examples in Tigers history where heavy workloads resulted in truncated careers – among them Mark Fidrych.

Here’s the gist:

[L]et’s talk about some past Tigers history that might help put the Verlander decision in better perspective.

(snip)

Denny McLain won 31 games in 1968 — the only man in the past 77 years to have done so — and 24 the following season.

He won two Cy Young Awards during those two seasons. He won Most Valuable Player in 1968.

He pitched a combined 661 innings — no misprint — during those two campaigns.

He was 25 years old at the end of the ’69 season.

He won 21 games, total, the remainder of his career. His arm had been fried during those two colossal seasons.

I knew pitchers 40 years ago regularly went deep in games and threw a lot of pitches, but McLain’s output in 1966 was staggering.

On Aug. 29, 1966, McLain threw 229 pitches in the Tigers’ 6-3 win over the Orioles. He gave up eight hits, walks nine and struck out 11 Orioles to notch his 16th win. According to the Baseball Reference.com box score, McLain faced 43 batters in the game.

He was just 22 at the time.

In that game, McLain set the Orioles down in order only one time, the bottom of the second. In every other inning he faced, on average, about five hitters per inning.

Did I mention he was only 22?

Three days later, on Sept. 1, McLain faced the Indians in Cleveland and again went the distance, facing 39 batters. He retired the side 1-2-3 twice in the game but otherwise had a similar pattern to his previous start. (The Tigers won, 4-2.)

On Sept. 6, McLain pitched nine innings, allowed 11 hits, two runs and struck out six, in an 8-2 win over Washington at Tiger Stadium. He faced 38 Senators hitters in this game, his 18th win.

McLain’s 1966 campaign concluded with him making three starts in the span of eight days. On Sept. 23, he didn’t make it out of the third inning, surrendering eight earned runs on seven hits.

Three days later he went eight innings, allowed one run on four hits against 30 Angels batters on the way to his 20th win.

On Oct. 1, the next-to-last day of the season, McLain would pitch 3 2/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits. He took the loss, his 14th, 5-2 to the A’s.

Fourteen and a third innings in three days. Totals like that can certainly make it a bit easier to appreciate today’s pitch-count obsessed mindset in baseball.

All told, McLain threw 264 1/3 innings in 1966. Forty years later, a 23-year-old Verlander threw a comparatively meager 186 innings – and there was talk then that he was approaching overworked status.

There’s no chance the Tigers would put such a ridiculous workload on Verlander – or, in a more apt comparison, Rick Porcello, and Lynn Henning’s column makes a good case for why pitch counts matter, even though I admittedly roll my eyes when I hear them mentioned during games.

And a closer look at a season from 45 years ago explains Denny McLain’s precipitous fall from a 31-game winner at the age of 24 to the loser of 22 games three years later, and his departure from baseball when he should have been entering his prime.

I’m fairly confident the year was 1978 and it was at my baseball banquet at St. Isaac Jogues in St. Clair Shores. Word had spread that there would be a Tigers player at the banquet and I held out hope, despite my brother’s assurances I was nuts, that the Tiger would be Mark Fidrych.

Instead, it was Northrup and I remember thinking, “This guy?”

Of course I knew who he was. I listened over and over to the album (which is now available on CD!) my Dad bought for me, The Year of the Tiger ’68, that chronicled Mayo Smith’s amazing team.

Still, he was no Bird. Or my then-hero Jason Thompson or Steve Kemp.

Ultimately it didn’t matter a whit because I was standing next to a man who played for the Tigers.

My encounter with Northrup was memorable for another reason: I think I annoyed him. We were one of the first families to arrive at the banquet, which was held in the church basement that five days a week served as my school lunchroom. I remember my Mom encouraging me to take the banquet program and asking him for an autograph. So I made a beeline to the little stage area where he was standing by himself and got his impeccably written signature.

A while later a player from my team showed up and he ran over to a table and grabbed a banquet ticket. He asked Northrup to sign it. So enthralled was I about Northrup being there — and mind you, it could’ve been any former Tiger at this point — I took one of the same tickets from that same table and scurried up to the stage and asked him for another autograph.

He looked down at me and said, “How many autographs do you want, kid?”

I was more than a little embarrassed but he winked at me and I didn’t feel so stupid. (As it ends up, the ticket I used for the second autograph belonged to my teammate’s sister and I had to relinquish it to her. No one, it seemed, was pleased with autograph number two.)

I don’t remember much about what Northrup said during his after-dinner remarks but I do recall lots of laughter and my parents enjoying his reminscing about the ’68 team.

A few years later I got to know and appreciate Jim Northrup when he was Larry Osterman‘s partner on the old PASS network broadcasts. I can’t verify this but I would be shocked to learn that Northrup did one nanosecond of preparation. What I can guarantee is that no other Tigers announcer in my lifetime was as appropriately critical of players and the plays they made or didn’t make as old number 5. He was, in many ways, the un-Jim Price and I thoroughly enjoyed every game he called.

More on this from Lynn Henning in his column today:

No question, Northrup was glib and acerbic. So much so, his tongue got him into trouble as much as it got him noticed.

Exhibit A there was his career as a Tigers television announcer. It ended in 1995, and no one had to explain why Northrup was unceremoniously yanked. He was blunt, unapologetically so. A new front-office regime wasn’t interested in subjecting owner Mike Ilitch to Northrup’s reviews, no matter how accurate or welcomed they might have been by a Tigers audience.

Back to the baseball banquet. The event was winding down and we all had our trophies – which we’d earned and not every kid got one. Imagine.

Anyway, my Dad suggested I get an autograph on the bottom of my trophy. I explained I already had asked for two from Northrup and he might get mad. Dad shrugged and said, “Go ask him.”

So I walked up and ever-so meekly asked him to sign the trophy and he just smiled, signed it and as he handed it back to me said, “Way to go.”

From that moment on I was a Jim Northrup fan, though I never saw him play a single game.

With today’s news that Zumaya is headed to the 60-day disabled list, with no clear answer on what’s causing the pain in his throwing elbow, I’ve come to grips with the fact his days in Detroit, if not baseball altogether, are reaching the end.

Tigers head trainer Kevin Rand summed up Zumaya’s road back from his most-recent injury:

“On the fracture side, everything is fine, but there’s something causing pain. He’s tender right over the screw (that was inserted during the surgery).

“It’s frustrating for Joel. It’s real tough. He rested it six weeks, picked up a baseball, everything felt great.

“Twenty-four throws in he felt great, on the 25th he felt something — and now he can’t pick up a baseball.”

Plenty has been written about the similarities of Zumaya and Mark Fidrych, pitchers that burst onto the Detroit sports scene three decades apart. (Including a piece on this site from November 2007.)

Of course, the similarities had nothing to do with their pitching and everything to do with their immense talent. Talent that was snuffed out by persistent injuries.

Here’s hoping that Zumaya will return to baseball and ideally with the Tigers. Today, though, I can’t see it happening.

What do you think? Vote in our latest Fungo Flash Poll.

41-34, 1st place; 1/2-game lead

Today’s Game

Tigers @ Twins| 8:10 p.m. ET – Target Field | On the air: FSD/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM

Pitching Matchup

Armando Galarraga (3-1, 3.68 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Blackburn (6-5, 6.10 ERA)

Yesterday’s Results

Tigers 7 – Twins 5

• W: Jeremy Bonderman (4-5)
• L: Francisco Liriano (6-6)
• Save: Jose Valverde (18)
• HR: Gerald Laird (2), Jim Thome (7)

Tigers History Lesson

Today’s Birthdays

• Eddie Miller, 53
• Bruce Kimm, 59
• Dizzy Trout (1915-1972)

• Bobby Veach (1888-1945)

On this Date in Tigers History

• 1986 — The Tigers beat the Brewers 9-5 in the first game of a doubleheader split, making Sparky Anderson the first manager ever to win 600 games in each league. The Brewers win game two, 3-1.

• 1983 — Mark Fidrych, in the second year of an extended comeback attempt with the Pawtucket Red Sox, retires. The 1976 A.L. Rookie of the Year was 2-5 with a 9.68 ERA.

• 1968 — Jim Northrup’s third grand slam ties the major-league record for slams in a month (Rudy York, May 1938), and sets a major-league record for slams in a week. The Tigers win 5-2 over the White Sox; Denny McLain notches his 14th victory.

• 1967 — The Tigers acquired outfielder Jim Landis from the Astros for RHP Larry Sherry.

But as this season wore on, I thought about it less and less. We were finally seeing the Zumaya we enjoyed so much in 2006 — but he was even better. He’d matured physically and mentally and was a reliable late-innings setup man.

When I saw him virtually crumble to the ground after throwing that pitch in the eighth inning — and I don’t remember if it was a ball or strike — I immediately thought the worst. Not that his career was over, but that something happened to his arm that would effect his life long-term. Perhaps as awful as what happened to Dave Dravecky.

I often wondered if Zumaya would benefit from a return to the starting rotation, where he started his career in the minors. He could ease off the gas pedal and pace himself over several innings, not go all-in on every pitch over two innings. Now I’m thinking that’s probably not an option for him either.

Officially, the Tigers are calling it an injury to the elbow and we’ll likely know more about it later today. It certainly doesn’t look like Zumaya will pick up a baseball again this year or even next.

In the fall of 2007 I wrote here that Zumaya could be this generation’s Mark Fidrych — doomed to be remembered as a one-season star.

For a few months this season, I thought Zumaya had put our minds at ease.

But here we are again.

40-34, 2nd place; 1/2-game behind Minnesota

Today’s Game

Tigers @ Twins | 8:10 p.m. ET – Target Field | On the air: FSD/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM

Pitching Matchup

Jeremy Bonderman (3-5) vs. LHP Francisco Liriano (6-5)

Yesterday’s Results

Tigers 10 – Braves 6

• W: Justin Verlander (9-5)
• L: Tommy Hanson (7-5)
• HR: Brennan Boesch (12)

Tigers History Lesson

Today’s Birthdays

• Chris Spurling, 33
• Greg Keagle, 39

• Fred Gladding, 74

On this Date in Tigers History

• 1997 — For the second time in three days, a Tiger steals four bases with Boston catcher Scott Hatteberg behind the plate. This time it’s Damion Easley in Detroit’s 9-2 victory. Tomorrow, Hatteberg will start on the bench, but will come in when Bill Haselman breaks his finger.
• 1976 — Mark ‘the Bird’ Fidrych one-hits the Yankees before a national television audience as the Tigers win 5-1.

• 1962 — Hall of Famer href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cochrmi01.shtml">Mickey Cochrane died at age 59.

• 1931 — Records for catching fly balls are set in a doubleheader as the A’s beat the Tigers, 9-1 and 5-1. Detroit’s outfield made 24 putouts, and Philadelphia adds 19 for a two-team total of 43 in the two games.

Thanks, Justin!

The only living proof that I have of it is a photo from my oldest sister’s wedding in which I was wearing it. (My mom was mortified.)

Anyone else have one?

A 1985 interview with Mark Fidrych on the TV show “Once a Star”, hosted by Jack Brickhouse, Steve Stone and former Pistons guard and TV color analyst John “Crash” Mengelt.

Obits:

• The New York Times (with quotes by Ernie Harwell).
• The Boston Globe
  

• The Los Angeles Times (with quotes from former Tigers’ second baseman Gary Sutherland) — and a JPEG of a 1976 Times article on The Bird.
• The Washington Post

I’ll certainly have more on The Bird this week, but I will share my single memory of Fidrych and his magical 1976 season.

My parents had tickets for one of the most dazzling games of that year: August 17, Detroit native Frank Tanana and the Angels against Fidrych and the Tigers at Tiger Stadium.

Back then, Tanana was a flamethrower and entered the game with a 14-8 record on his way to a 19-win season. The Bird was 13-4 and, as everyone knows, soaring toward the A.L. Rookie of the Year honors.

Anyway, I had two choices: I could attend the game with my family or I could spend the evening hanging out with my grandpa. The choice was easy: I hung out with grandpa.

And what a night! I ate ice cream, played Go Fish and listened to the game on WJR. The fact is, I wasn’t a diehard fan at that point (I was but a pup of 8 years) and, let’s face it, grandpa never disappointed. (One note about the ice cream. Grandpa asked me if I wanted syrup on my Sander’s vanilla. “Of course,” I said, expecting Hershey’s. Instead I got Log Cabin.)

So, what happened in that game? Not much. Only everything you’d expect in a game for the ages: A crowd of 51,822 watching Tanana go eight innings, give up just four hits, and strike out eight. For his part, Fidrych went the distance, too, scattering five hits, allowing only a pair of runs.

Despite the tremendous pitching by both starters, the real hero was The Bird’s personal catcher, Bruce Kimm, whose solo homer in the eighth broke a 2-2 tie. Did I mention it was the only homer he’d hit in his career? ‘Twas.

Sure, the baseball fan in me wishes I’d seen that game, but it’s a much richer memory — and a better story — having the worlds of Mark “The Bird” Fidrych and James McClary collide.

Less than a year after the Fidrych/Tanana tilt, I lost my grandpa — way too soon. Now we’ve lost The Bird before it was time.

Even before learning of Fidrych’s death this afternoon, I couldn’t think of him without thinking of my grandpa and that wonderful night in 1976.

And that’s not going to change.

For those of us in Michigan, maybe it was hard to imagine him anywhere but on that mound, in that magical year. That’s why the news of his death is so jarring.

I was ten years old when he had his great season, and while I idolized him like all the other ten-year-olds did, he always seemed like he’d be just as comfortable playing whiffle ball with us kids as he seemed to be on the mound at Tiger Stadium. And he probably would have had just as much fun.

Besides his phenomenal talent, that was his biggest appeal: the pure joy he brought to the game. The free agent era was just beginning. The Tigers had just come off a dismal 1975 season in which they lost 102 games (and 19 in a row at one point). Most of the 1968 stars were gone. He represented the hope of the future. But most of all, he reminded everyone of the joy the game of baseball can provide.

That’s what I’ll remember most. And that’s the emotion I choose to feel now, because I got to witness it the first time around.

This year, at 45, Moyer ended up at 16-7, 3.71, with 33 starts and 196 innings pitched. For his part, Rogers, 43, was 9-13, 5.70, 30 starts and 170+ innings pitched.

When Moyer was 43 (in 2006), he was 6-12, 4.39 in 25 starts with the Mariners and 5-2, 4.03, eight starts after a trade to Philly. In 2007, at 44, Moyer went 14-12, 5.01 in 33 starts.

On Opening Day — in fact, next Monday — Rogers will be 44. Should the Tigers consider him as a viable option as their number-five starter? Maybe.

Other stuff…

• On this date in 1976, the Orioles’ Jim Palmer, who led the American League with 22 victories and 315 innings pitched, wins the American League Cy Young Award be securing 19 of the 24 first-place votes. The Tigers’ rookie Mark Fidrych finished second with five. (Future-Tiger Frank Tanana was third.)

  The Bird would get his hardware, of course, during that postseason by winning the Rookie of the Year Award with 22 first-place votes to the two first-place votes for Twins catcher Butch Wynegar.

• Happy 49th Birthday to Lloyd Moseby, a long-time Blue Jays outfielder that joined the Tigers as a free agent for the 1990 and ’91 seasons. His best overall season was 1984: .280, 18 HR, 92 RBI and 15 triples.For the Tigers he simply kept centerfield warm for Milt Cuyler. Ahem. The Portland, Ark. native hit .255 in two Detroit seasons with a total of 20 homers. He retired after the 1991 season at the surprisingly young age of 31.

And in 1953, Larry Darnell Herndon was born in Sunflower, Miss.

Herndon, who came to Detroit in a 1982 trade with the Giants, had a role in two clinching games for the Tigers. Most remember him catching the final out of the World Series in 1984. Three years later, his solo homer was enough for the Tigers to defeat the Blue Jays on the final day of the season and will the American League East title.

He was a member of the 1976 Topps All-Star Rookie Team along with Jason Thompson, Mark Fidrych, Chet Lemon, Garry Templeton and Willie Randolph.

Happy 55th, Hondo.

I was in Portland, Ore., meeting with clients this week but was able to sneak away for my first visit to Powell’s Books flagship store. (One word: Wow.)While I was waiting in line to buy three baseball books — including the hard-to-find “No Big Deal” by Mark Fidrych and Tom Clark — I snapped this shot.As you can see, the Willis and Cabrera trade made it above the flag on The Oregonian front page.Shortly after this photo was taken, I saw Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning stroll into the store. A giant.

Thirty years ago, Tigers fans held out hope that the knee injury suffered by Mark “The Bird” Fidrych in spring training was merely a moment of turbulence on his career’s soaring trajectory. Unfortunately, Fidrych’s career — which showed such promise after a 19-9, Rookie of the Year campaign in 1976 — all but ended 11 starts into his sophomore season.

Despite a rotator-cuff fueled flame-out, to this day The Bird is a revered character in the Tigers’ rich history. (I still like to imagine a 1984 rotation of Jack Morris, Fidrych, Dan Petry and Milt Wilcox.)

In the wake of Joel Zumaya‘s shoulder injury — coming six months after his finger injury — one has to wonder if the closer-in-waiting could become this generation’s Fidrych.

Comparing these two pitchers isn’t apples to apples, of course. In fact, they couldn’t be any different in just about any category. Fidrych was an innings eater, which likely contributed to his truncated career. He threw 250 innings in 1976 — as a rookie. Those were the days before meticulous pitch-count management. (In contrast, consider that in 2006 the Tigers were concerned with Justin Verlander topping 130 innings pitched in his Rookie of the Year season.)

At most, Zumaya pitches two innings a game.

In 1977, Tigers fans expected more of the same from The Bird. Little did they know they’d already seen his best.

Thirty years later, after Zumaya’s early-season hand injury occurred, fans expected him to pick up where he’d left off. Instead, he showed only flashes of his 2006 dominance. Now we must wait until mid-season, at best, to learn more about his prospects for a long major league career.

Still, until Zumaya burst on to the scene in 2006, no pitcher has electrified Tigers home crowds like Fidrych.

Let’s hope that’s where the similarities end.