Examiner: Fidrych suffocated to death
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Associated Press

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. -- Former All-Star pitcher Mark Fidrych suffocated after
his clothes became entangled with a spinning part on the truck he was
working on, Massachusetts authorities said Thursday.

The state medical examiner's office ruled the death an accident, according
to a release from the Worcester District Attorney's office.

A friend found Fidrych, 54, beneath a 10-wheel dump truck on Monday at his
Northborough farm.

"He appeared to have been working on the truck when his clothes became
tangled in the truck's power takeoff shaft," District Attorney Joseph Early
Jr. said in a statement.

A power takeoff shaft is a driveshaft that spins at high speed and can be
used to power another piece of equipment.

The investigation is now closed, a spokesman for the DA said.

Fidrych went 19-9 with a 2.34 ERA for the Detroit Tigers in 1976 to win the
AL Rookie of the Year award, becoming as famous for his mop of curly hair
and on-the-mound antics as his skills.