[citation needed], Dalkowski often had extreme difficulty controlling his pitches. The catcher held the ball for a few seconds a few inches under Williams chin. "I hit my left elbow on my right knee so often, they finally made me a pad to wear", recalled Dalkowski. Cloudy skies. This book is so well written that you will be turning the pages as fast as Dalkowski's fastball." Pat Gillick, Dalkowski's 1962 and 1963 teammate, Hall of Fame and 3-time World Series champion GM for the Toronto Blue Jays (1978-1994), Baltimore Orioles (1996-1998), Seattle Mariners (2000-2003) and Philadelphia Phillies (2006-2008). Screenwriter and film director Ron Shelton played in the Baltimore Orioles minor league organization soon after Dalkowski. Major League Baseball Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver called Steve "Dalko" Dalkowski the fastest pitcher he had ever seen with an estimated 110-mph fastball in an era without radar guns. Despite never playing baseball very seriously and certainly not at an elite level, Petranoff, once he became a world-class javelin thrower, managed to pitch at 103 mph. How he knocked somebodys ear off and how he could throw a ball through just about anything. So speed is not everything. At loose ends, Dalkowski began to work the fields of Californias San Joaquin Valley in places like Lodi, Fresno, and Bakersfield. I never drank the day of a game. Best Softball Bats This suggests a violent forward thrust, a sharp hitting of the block, and a very late release point (compare Chapman and Ryan above, whose arm, after the point of release, comes down over their landing leg, but not so violently as to hit it). But many questions remain: Whatever the answer to these and related questions, Dalkowski remains a fascinating character, professional baseballs most intriguing man of mystery, bar none. He has been a recurring guest on MLB Network and a member of the BBWAA since 2011. Fondy attempted three bunts, fouling one off into a television both on the mezzanine, which must have set a record for [bunting] distance, according to the Baltimore Sun. But within months, Virginia suffered a stroke and died in early 1994. I lasted one semester, [and then] moved to Palomar College in February 1977. He had an unusual buggy-whip style, and his pitches were as wild as they were hard. What could have been., Copyright 2023 TheNationalPastimeMuseum, 8 Best Youth Baseball Gloves 2023-22 [Feb. Update], Top 11 Best Infield Gloves 2023 [Feb. Update]. But that said, you can assemble a quality cast of the fastest of the fast pretty easily. "[5], Dalkowski was born in New Britain, Connecticut, the son of Adele Zaleski, who worked in a ball bearing factory, and Stephen Dalkowski, a tool and die maker. Pitchers need power, which is not brute strength (such as slowly lifting a heavy weight), but the ability to dispense that strength ever more quickly. With that, Dalkowski came out of the game and the phenom who had been turning headsso much that Ted Williams said he would never step in the batters box against himwas never the same. He finished his minor league career with a record of 46-80 and an ERA of 5.57. To push the analogy to its logical limit, we might say that Dalkowski, when it came to speed of pitching, may well have been to baseball what Zelezny was to javelin throwing. [17], Dalkowski's wildness frightened even the bravest of hitters. At 5'11" and weighing 170 pounds, he did not exactly fit the stereotype of a power pitcher, especially one. Living Legend Released, wrote The Sporting News. Brought into an April 13, 1958 exhibition against the Reds at Memorial Stadium, Dalkowski sailed his first warm-up pitch over the head of the catcher, then struck out Don Hoak, Dee Fondy, and Alex Grammas on 12 pitches. We were overloading him., The future Hall of Fame manager helped Dalkowski to simplify things, paring down his repertoire to fastball-slider, and telling him to take a little off the former, saying, Just throw the ball over the plate. Weaver cracked down on the pitchers conditioning as well. The difference between hitting the block hard with a straight leg and not hitting the block by letting the front leg collapse seems to be a reliable marker for separating low 90s pitchers from 100s pitchers. Here, using a radar machine, he was clocked at 93.5 miles per hour (150.5km/h), a fast but not outstanding speed for a professional pitcher. Which duo has the most goal contributions in Europe this season? He was the wildest I ever saw".[11][12]. Its like something out of a Greek myth. We werent the first in this effort and, likely, will not be the last. Bill Dembski, Alex Thomas, Brian Vikander. For the first time, Dalko: The Untold Story of . His alcoholism and violent behavior off the field caused him problems during his career and after his retirement. He resurfaced on Christmas Eve, 1992, and came under the care of his younger sister, Patricia Cain, returning to her after a brief reunion with his second wife, Virginia Greenwood, ended with her death in 1994. But we, too, came up empty-handed. The old-design javelin was retired in 1986, with a new-design javelin allowing serrated tails from 1986 to 1991, and then a still newer design in 1991 eliminating the serration, which is the current javelin. Dalkowski's pitches, thrown from a 5-foot-11-inch, 175-pound frame, were likely to arrive high or low rather than bearing in on a hitter or straying wide of the plate. Thats why Steve Dalkowski stays in our minds. Although not official, the fastest observed fastball speed was a pitch from Mark Wohlers during spring training in 1995, which allegedly clocked in at 103 mph. Most obvious in this video is Zeleznys incredible forward body thrust. During a typical season in 1960, while pitching in the California League, Dalkowski struck out 262 batters and walked 262 in 170 innings. He threw so hard that the ball had a unique bend all its own due to the speed it traveled. Over the years I still pitched baseball and threw baseball for cross training. But we have no way of confirming any of this. This goes to point 2 above. April 24, 2020 4:11 PM PT Steve Dalkowski, a hard-throwing, wild left-hander whose minor league career inspired the creation of Nuke LaLoosh in the movie "Bull Durham," has died. By comparison, Zeleznys 1996 world record throw was 98.48 meters, 20 percent more than Petranoffs projected best javelin throw with the current javelin, i.e., 80 meters. Both were world-class javelin throwers, but Petranoff was also an amateur baseball pitcher whose javelin-throwing ability enabled him to pitch 103 mph. From there he was demoted back to Elmira, but by then not even Weaver could help him. editors note]. Even . Pitcher Steve Dalkowski in 1963. I did hear that he was very upset about it, and tried to see me in the hospital, but they wouldnt let him in.. The Orioles brought Dalkowski to their major league spring training the following year, not because he was ready to help the team but because they believed hed benefit from the instruction of manager Paul Richards and pitching coach Harry Brecheen. He was sentenced to time on a road crew several times and ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous. [4] Such was his reputation that despite his never reaching the major leagues, and finishing his minor league years in class-B ball, the 1966 Sporting News item about the end of his career was headlined "Living Legend Released."[5]. The Orioles sent Dalkowski to the Aberden Proving Grounds to have his fastball tested for speed on ballistic equipment at a time before radar guns were used. [20], According to the Guinness Book of Records, a former record holder for fastest pitch is Nolan Ryan, with a pitch clocked at 100.9mph (162.4km/h) in 1974, though several pitchers have recorded faster pitches since then. In one game in Bluefield, Tennessee, playing under the dim lighting on a converted football field, he struck out 24 while walking 18, and sent one batter 18-year-old Bob Beavers to the hospital after a beaning so severe that it tore off the prospects ear lobe and ended his career after just seven games. On May 7, 1966, shortly after his release from baseball, The Sporting News carried a blurred, seven-year-old photograph of one Stephen Louis Dalkowski, along with a brief story that was headlined . On March 23, Dalkowski was used as a relief pitcher during a game against the New York Yankees. The Steve Dalkowski Story Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League 308 subscribers Subscribe 755 71K views 2 years ago CONNECTICUT On October 11, 2020, Connecticut Public premiered Tom. After one pitch, Shelton says, Williams stepped out of the box and said "I never want to face him again.". Our hypothesis is that Dalko put these biomechanical features together in a way close to optimal. Recalled Barber in 1999, One night, Bo and I went into this place and Steve was in there and he says, Hey, guys, look at this beautiful sight 24 scotch and waters lined up in front of him. Play-by-play data prior to 2002 was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted Yet the card statistics on the back reveal that the O's pitcher lost twice as many games as he won in the minors and had a 6.15 earn run average! And if Zelezny could have done it, then so too could Dalko. Because of control problems, walking as many as he struck out, Dalkowski never made it to the majors, though he got close. This website provides the springboard. His legendary fastball was gone and soon he was out of baseball. He also might've been the wildest pitcher in history. However, several factors worked against Dalkowski: he had pitched a game the day before, he was throwing from a flat surface instead of from a pitcher's mound, and he had to throw pitches for 40minutes at a small target before the machine could capture an accurate measurement. It was tempting, but I had a family and the number one ranking in the world throwing javelins, and making good money, Baseball throwing is very similar to javelin throwing in many ways, and enables you to throw with whip and zip. The only recorded evidence of his pitching speed stems from 1958, when Dalkowski was sent by the Orioles to Aberdeen Proving Ground, a military installation. To see this, please review the pitches of Aroldis Chapman and Nolan Ryan above. [27] Sports Illustrated's 1970 profile of Dalkowski concluded, "His failure was not one of deficiency, but rather of excess. During the 1960s under Earl Weaver, then the manager for the Orioles' double-A affiliate in Elmira, New York, Dalkowski's game began to show improvement. Answer: While it is possible Koufax could hit 100 mph in his younger years, the fastest pitch he ever threw which was recorded was in the low 90s. In 1963, the year that this Topps Card came out, many bigwigs in baseball thought Steve Dalkowski was the fastest pitcher in baseballmaybe in the history of the game. His arm speed/strength must have been impressive, and it may well be that he was able to achieve a coordinated snap of forearm and wrist that significantly added to his speed. Steve Dalkowski will forever be remembered for his remarkable arm. In an attic, garage, basement, or locker are some silver tins containing old films from long forgotten times. He had fallen in with the derelicts, and they stick together. This may not seem like a lot, but it quickly becomes impressive when one considers his form in throwing the baseball, which is all arm, with no recruitment from his body, and takes no advantage of his javelin throwing form, where Zelezny is able to get his full body into the throw. In camp with the Orioles, he struck out 11 in 7.2 innings. Players seeing Dalkowski pitch and marveling at his speed did not see him as fundamentally changing the art of pitching. Hed suffered a pinched nerve in his elbow. The thing to watch in this video is how Petranoff holds his javelin in the run up to his throw, and compare it to Zeleznys run up: Indeed, Petranoff holds his javelin pointing directly forward, gaining none of the advantage from torque that Zelezny does. Weaver knew that Dalkowski's fastball was practically unhittable no matter where it was in the strike zone, and if Dalkowski missed his target, he might end up throwing it on the corners for a strike anyway. There are, of course, some ceteris paribus conditions that apply here inasmuch as throwing ability with one javelin design might not correlate precisely to another, but to a first approximation, this percentage subtraction seems reasonable. As impressive as Dalkowskis fastball velocity was its movement. "I never want to face him again. That seems to be because Ryan's speed was recorded 10 feet (3.0m) from the plate, unlike 10 feet from release as today, costing him up to 10 miles per hour (16km/h). Steve Dalkowski was Baseball's Wild Thing Before Ricky Vaughn Showed Up. The four features above are all aids to pitching power, and cumulatively could have enabled Dalko to attain the pitching speeds that made him a legend. "Steve Dalkowski threw at 108.something mph in a minor league game one time." He was? Dalkowski ended up signing with Baltimore after scout Beauty McGowan gave him a $4,000 signing bonus . Instead, Dalkowski spent his entire professional career in the minor leagues. Thus, after the javelin leaves Zeleznys hand, his momentum is still carrying him violently forward. Which non-quarterback group will define each top-25 team's season? After hitting a low point at Class B Tri-City in 1961 (8.39 ERA, with 196 walks 17.1 per nine! Then add such contemporary stars as Stephen Strasburg and Aroldis Chapman, and youre pretty much there. Here is a video of Zeleznys throwing a baseball at the Braves practice (reported on Czech TV see the 10 second mark): How fast has a javelin thrower been able to pitch a baseball? Whats possible here? The minors were already filled with stories about him. Soon he reunited with his second wife and they moved to Oklahoma City, trying for a fresh start. At Stockton in 1960, Dalkowski walked an astronomical 262 batters and struck out the same number in 170 innings. Dalkowski was also famous for his unpredictable performance and inability to control his pitches. Some uncertainty over the cause of his injury exists, however, with other sources contending that he damaged his elbow while throwing to first after fielding a bunt from Yankees pitcher Jim Bouton. Said Shelton, "In his sport, he had the equivalent of Michaelangelo's gift but could never finish a painting." Dalko is the story of the fastest pitching that baseball has ever seen, an explosive but uncontrolled arm. The straight landing allows the momentum of their body to go into the swing of the bat. Steve Dalkowski, here throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at. "To understand how Dalkowski, a chunky little man with thick glasses and a perpetually dazed expression, became a 'legend in his own time'." Pat Jordan in The Suitors of Spring (1974). If you've never heard of him, it's because he had a career record of 46-80 and a 5.59 ERA - in the minor leagues. The reason we think he may be over-rotating is that Nolan Ryan, who seemed to be every bit as fast as Chapman, tended to have a more compact, but at least as effective, torque (see Ryan video at the start of this article). Here is his account: I started throwing and playing baseball from very early age I played little league at 8, 9, and 10 years old I moved on to Pony League for 11, 12, and 13 years olds and got better. Steve Dalkowski Rare Footage of Him Throwing | Fastest Pitcher Ever? Koufax was obviously one of the greatest pitchers in MLB history, but his breaking balls were what was so devastating. Take Justin Verlander, for instance, who can reach around 100 mph, and successfully hits the block: Compare him with Kyle Hendricks, whose leg acts as a shock absorber, and keeps his fastball right around 90 mph: Besides arm strength/speed, forward body thrust, and hitting the block, Jan Zelezny exhibits one other biomechanical trait that seems to significantly increase the distance (and thus speed) that he can throw a javelin, namely, torque. In his final 57 innings of the 62 season, he gave up one earned run, struck out 110, and walked only 21. [17], Dalkowski had a lifetime winloss record of 4680 and an ERA of 5.57 in nine minor league seasons, striking out 1,396 and walking 1,354 in 995 innings. Steve Dalkowski's pitches didn't rip through the air, they appeared under mystified Ted Williams' chin as if by magic. Used with permission. After he retired from baseball, he spent many years as an alcoholic, making a meager living as a manual laborer. Stay tuned! Thats where hell always be for me. I was 6 feet tall in eighth grade and 175 lbs In high school, I was 80 plus in freshman year and by senior year 88 plus mph, I received a baseball scholarship to Ball State University in 1976. He recovered in the 1990s, but his alcoholism left him with dementia[citation needed] and he had difficulty remembering his life after the mid-1960s. It did not take long "three straight pitches," Dalkowski recalled, through the blur of 46 very hard years. [19] Most observers agree that he routinely threw well over 110 miles per hour (180km/h), and sometimes reached 115 miles per hour (185km/h). Dalko, its true, is still alive, though hes in a nursing home and suffers dementia. Again, amazing. Williams looks at the ball in the catcher's hand, and steps out of the box, telling reporters Dalkowski is the fastest pitcher he ever faced and he'd be damned if he was going to face him. He's already among the all-time leaders with 215 saves and has nearly 500 strikeouts in just seven short seasons. Dalkowski picked cotton, oranges, apricots, and lemons. During his 16-year professional career, Dalkowski came as close as he ever would to becoming a complete pitcher when he hooked up with Earl Weaver, a manager who could actually help him, in 1962 at Elmira, New York. [13] In separate games, Dalkowski struck out 21 batters, and walked 21 batters. Steve Dalkowski, a wild left-hander who was said to have been dubbed "the fastest pitcher in baseball history" by Ted Williams, died this week in New Britain, Connecticut. He asserted, "Steve Dalkowski was the hardest thrower I ever saw." . He'd post BB/9IP rates of 18.7, 20.4, 16.3, 16.8, and 17.1. One evening he started to blurt out the answers to a sports trivia game the family was playing. Our content is reader-supported, which means that if you click on some of our links, we may earn a commission. "Fastest ever", said Williams. I couldnt get in the sun for a while, and I never did play baseball again. During his time with the football team, they won the division championship twice, in 1955 and 1956. That was because of the tremendous backspin he could put on the ball., That amazing, rising fastball would perplex managers, friends, and catchers from the sandlots back in New Britain, Connecticut where Dalkowski grew up, throughout his roller-coaster ride in the Orioles farm system. We were telling him to hold runners close, teaching him a changeup, how to throw out of the stretch. On September 8, 2003, Dalkowski threw out the ceremonial first pitch before an Orioles game against the Seattle Mariners while his friends Boog Powell and Pat Gillick watched. Williams looked back at it, then at Dalkowski, squinting at him from the mound, and then he dropped his bat and stepped out of the cage. I first met him in spring training in 1960, Gillick said. They help break down Zeleznys throwing motion. He was able to find a job and stay sober for several months but soon went back to drinking. Former Baltimore Orioles minor-leaguer Steve Dalkowski, whose blazing fastball and incurable wildness formed the basis for a main character in the movie "Bull Durham," has died at the age of .