", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steve_Dalkowski&oldid=1117098020, Career statistics and player information from, Krieger, Kit: Posting on SABR-L mailing list from 2002. "I hit my left elbow on my right knee so often, they finally made me a pad to wear", recalled Dalkowski. Dalko explores one man's unmatched talent on the mound and the forces that kept ultimate greatness always just beyond his reach. [15] Weaver believed that Dalkowski had experienced such difficulty keeping his game under control because he did not have the mental capacity. The southpaw was clocked at 105.1 mph while pitching for the Reds in 2011. . Steve Dalkowski met Roger Maris once. Accurate measurements at the time were difficult to make, but the consensus is that Dalkowski regularly threw well above 100 miles per hour (160km/h). His pitches strike terror into the heart of any batter who dares face him, but hes a victim of that lack of control, both on and off the field, and it prevents him from taking full advantage of his considerable talent. Pitching primarily in the Baltimore Orioles organization, Dalkowski walked 1,236 batters and fanned 1,324 in 956 minor-league innings. 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). Is there any extant video of him pitching (so far none has been found)? Our content is reader-supported, which means that if you click on some of our links, we may earn a commission. 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. Late in the year, he was traded to the Pirates for Sam Jones, albeit in a conditional deal requiring Pittsburgh to place him on its 40-man roster and call him up to the majors. No one knows how fast Dalkowski could throw, but veterans who saw him pitch say he was the fastest of all time. Forward body thrust refers to the center of mass of the body accelerating as quickly as possible from the rubber toward home plate. Steve Dalkowski Steve Dalkowski never pitched in the major leagues and made only 12 appearances at the Triple-A level. It is integrative in the sense that these incremental pieces are hypothesized to act cumulatively (rather than counterproductively) in helping Dalko reach otherwise undreamt of pitching speeds. As a postscript, we consider one final line of indirect evidence to suggest that Dalko could have attained pitching speeds at or in excess of 110 mph. But, no matter how embellished, one fact always remained: Dalkowski struck out more batters and walked more batters per nine-inning game than any professional pitcher in baseball history. 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. Though he went just 7-10, for the first time he finished with a sizable gap between his strikeout and walk totals (192 and 114, respectively) in 160 innings. I bounced it, Dalkowski says, still embarrassed by the miscue. As impressive as Dalkowskis fastball velocity was its movement. At 5'11" and weighing 170 pounds, he did not exactly fit the stereotype of a power pitcher, especially one. The current official record for the fastest pitch, through PITCHf/x, belongs to Aroldis Chapman, who in 2010 was clocked at 105.1 mph. 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. Granted much had changed since Dalkowski was a phenom in the Orioles system. At Aberdeen in 1959, under player-manager Earl Weaver, Dalkowski threw a no-hitter in which he struck out 21 and walked only eight, throwing nothing but fastballs, because the lone breaking ball he threw almost hit a batter. . The inertia pop of the stretch reflex is effortless when you find it [did Dalko find it? Slowly, Dalkowski showed signs of turning the corner. Yet as he threw a slider to Phil Linz, he felt something pop in his elbow. This was how he lived for some 25 yearsuntil he finally touched bottom. He was said to have thrown a pitch that tore off part of a batter's ear. He. Some suggest that he reached 108 MPH at one point in his career, but there is no official reading. In other words, instead of revolutionizing the biomechanics of pitching, Dalko unknowingly improved on and perfected existing pitching biomechanics. One evening he started to blurt out the answers to a sports trivia game the family was playing. Regardless of its actual speed, his fastball earned him the nickname "White Lightning". 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. This change was instituted in part because, by 1986, javelin throws were hard to contain in stadiums (Uwe Hohns world record in 1984, a year following Petranoffs, was 104.80 meters, or 343.8 ft.). The problem was that Dalkowski sprayed pitches high, low, inside, and out but not nearly often enough over the plate to be effective. [26] In a 2003 interview, Dalkowski said that he was unable to remember life events that occurred from 1964 to 1994. Its hard to find, mind you, but I found it and it was amazing how easy it was once you found the throwing zone I threw 103 mph a few times on radar, and many in 97-100 mph range, and did not realize I was throwing it until Padres scout came up with a coach after batting practice and told me. Arm speed/strength is self-explanatory: in the absence of other bodily helps, how fast can the arm throw the ball? Organizations like the Association of Professional Ballplayers of America and the Baseball Assistance Team periodically helped, but cut off support when he spent the money on booze. The performance carried Dalkowski to the precipice of the majors. Thats when Dalkowski came homefor good. Beverage, Dick: Secretary-Treasurer for the Association of Professional Ballplayers of America. Though just 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, Dalkowski delivered a fastball that observers swore would have hit a minimum of 110 mph on a radar gun. I never drank the day of a game. It therefore seems entirely reasonable to think that Petranoffs 103 mph pitch could readily have been bested to above 110 mph by Zelezny provided Zelezny had the right pitching mechanics. "[15] The hardest throwers in baseball currently are recognized as Aroldis Chapman and Jordan Hicks, who have each been clocked with the fastest pitch speed on record at 105.1mph (169km/h). Associated Press Show More Show Less 2 of 9. Papelbon's best pitch is a fastball that sits at 94 to 96 mph (he's hit 100 mph. Aroldis Chapmans fastest pitch (see 25 second mark): Nolan Ryans fastest pitch (from MLB documentary FASTBALL): So the challenge, in establishing that Dalkowski was the fastest pitcher ever, is to make a case that his pitching velocity reached at least 110 mph. Perhaps that was the only way to control this kind of high heat and keep it anywhere close to the strike zone. [4] On another bet, Dalkowski threw a ball over a fence 440 feet (134m) away. In an attic, garage, basement, or locker are some silver tins containing old films from long forgotten times. Dalkowski signed with the Orioles in 1957 at age 21. He has been a recurring guest on MLB Network and a member of the BBWAA since 2011. [17] He played for two more seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Angels organizations before returning briefly to the Orioles farm system but was unable to regain his form before retiring in 1966. It's not often that a player who never makes it to the big leagues is regarded as a legend, yet that is exactly what many people call Steve Dalkowski. "I never want to face him again. Stephen Louis Dalkowski Jr. (June 3, 1939 [1] - April 19, 2020), nicknamed Dalko, [2] was an American left-handed pitcher. At Pensacola, he crossed paths with catcher Cal Ripken Sr. and crossed him up, too. Steve Dalkowski. He had a great arm but unfortunately he was never able to harness that great fastball of his. At only 511 and 175 pounds, what was Dalkowskis secret? Dalkowski was one of the many nursing home victims that succumbed to the virus during the COVID-19 pandemic in Connecticut. His fastball was like nothing Id ever seen before. Pat Gillick, who would later lead three teams to World Series championships (Toronto in 1992 and 1993, Philadelphia in 2008), was a young pitcher in the Orioles organization when Dalkowski came along. Look at the video above where he makes a world record of 95.66 meters, and note how in the run up his body twists clockwise when viewed from the top, with the javelin facing away to his right side (and thus away from the forward direction where he must throw). In camp with the Orioles, he struck out 11 in 7.2 innings. Consider the following remark about Dalkowski by Sudden Sam McDowell, an outstanding MLB pitcher who was a contemporary of Dalkowskis. Perhaps he wouldnt have been as fast as before, but he would have had another chance at the big leagues. It rose so much that his high school catcher told him to throw at batters ankles. Because pitching requires a stride, pitchers land with their front leg bent; but for the hardest throwers, the landing leg then reverts to a straight/straighter position. Its reliably reported that he threw 97 mph. When he throws, the javelin first needs to rotate counterclockwise (when viewed from the top) and then move straight forward. Additionally, former Dodgers reliever Jonathan Broxton topped out at 102 mph. "[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. We werent the first in this effort and, likely, will not be the last. The problem was he couldnt process all that information. Such an analysis has merit, but its been tried and leaves unexplained how to get to and above 110 mph. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. We will argue that the mechanics of javelin throwing offers insights that makes it plausible for Dalko being the fastest pitcher ever, attaining pitching speeds at and in excess of 110 mph. Ted Williams faced Dalkowski once in a spring training game. Indeed, in the data we have for his nine minor league seasons, totaling 956 innings (excluding a couple brief stops for which the numbers are incomplete), Dalkowski went 46-80 while yielding just 6.3 hits per nine innings, striking out 12.5 per nine, but walking 11.6 per nine en route to a 5.28 ERA. Photo by National Baseball Hall of Fame Library/MLB via Getty Images. Dalkos 110 mph pitching speed, once it is seriously entertained that he attained it, can lead one to think that Dalko was doing something on the mound that was completely different from other pitchers, that his biomechanics introduced some novel motions unique to pitching, both before and after. Amazing and sad story. He was too fast. Steve Dalkowski, who entered baseball lore as the hardest-throwing pitcher in history, with a fastball that was as uncontrollable as it was unhittable and who was considered perhaps the game's. Its possible that Chapman may be over-rotating (its possible to overdo anything). Cal Ripken Sr. guessed that he threw up to 115 miles per hour (185km/h). Those who found the tins probably wouldnt even bother to look in the cans, as they quickly identify those things that can be thrown away. Within a few innings, blood from the steak would drip down Baylocks arm, giving batters something else to think about. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Moreover, to achieve 110 mph, especially with his limited frame (511, 175 lbs), he must have pitched with a significant forward body thrust, which then transferred momentum to his arm by solidly hitting the block (no collapsing or shock-absorber leg). He handled me with tough love. Teddy Ballgame, who regularly faced Bob Feller and Herb Score and Ryne Duren, wanted no part of Dalko. XFL Week 3 preview: Can AJ McCarron, Battlehawks continue their fourth-quarter heroics? Dalkowski, a smallish (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) southpaw, left observers slack-jawed with the velocity of his fastball. Some put the needle at 110 mph but we'll never know. Major League and Minor League Baseball data provided by Major League Baseball. From there he was demoted back to Elmira, but by then not even Weaver could help him. Baseball pitching legend from the 1960's, Steve Dalkowski with his sister, Patti Cain, at Walnut Hill Park in New . A left-handed thrower with long arms and big hands, he played baseball as well, and by the eighth grade, his father could no longer catch him. He also allowed just two homers, and posted a career-best 3.04 ERA. To me, everything that happens has a reason. This goes to point 2 above. This website provides the springboard. You know the legend of Steve Dalkowski even if you dont know his name. Torque refers to the bodys (and especially the hips and shoulders) twisting motion and thereby imparting power to the pitch. He also had 39 wild pitches and won just one game. He became one of the few gringos, and the only Polish one at that, among the migrant workers. I think baseball and javelin cross training will help athletes in either sport prevent injury and make them better athletes. 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. Zelezny, from the Czech Republic, was in Atlanta in 1996 for the Olympics, where he won the gold for the javelin. [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. Ripken volunteered to take him on at Tri-Cities, demanding that he be in bed early on the nights before he pitched. Steve Dalkowski was one of the fastest pitchers in organized baseball history with a fastball thought to be over 100 miles per hours. On Christmas Eve 1992, Dalkowski walked into a laundromat in Los Angeles and began talking to a family there. Women's Champ Week predictions: Which teams will win the auto bids in all 32 conferences? Batters will land straight on their front leg as they stride into a pitch. What do we mean by these four features? I remember reading about Dalkowski when I was a kid. Dalkowski may have never thrown a pitch in the major leagues, but, says Cannon, his legacy lives on in the fictional characters he has spawned, and he will be remembered every time a hard-throwing . Read more Print length 304 pages Language English Publisher . For the season, at the two stops for which we have data (C-level Aberdeen being the other), he allowed just 46 hits in 104 innings but walked 207 while striking out 203 and posting a 7.01 ERA. Dalkowski had lived at a long-term care facility in New Britain for several years. Yet when the Orioles broke camp and headed north for the start of the regular season in 1963, Dalkowski wasnt with the club. Pitcher Steve Dalkowski in 1963. 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. The straight landing allows the momentum of their body to go into the swing of the bat. In line with such an assessment of biomechanical factors of the optimum delivery, improvements in velocity are often ascribed to timing, tempo, stride length, angle of the front hip along with the angle of the throwing shoulder, external rotation, etc. The story is fascinating, and Dalko is still alive. Brooklyn-based Jay Jaffe is a senior writer for FanGraphs, the author of The Cooperstown Casebook (Thomas Dunne Books, 2017) and the creator of the JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score) metric for Hall of Fame analysis. He's already among the all-time leaders with 215 saves and has nearly 500 strikeouts in just seven short seasons. [23], Scientists contend that the theoretical maximum speed that a pitcher can throw is slightly above 100mph (161km/h). After hitting a low point at Class B Tri-City in 1961 (8.39 ERA, with 196 walks 17.1 per nine! It was good entertainment, she told Amore last year. A few years ago, when I was finishing my bookHigh Heat: The Secret History of the Fastball and the Impossible Search for the Fastest Pitcher of All Time, I needed to assemble a list of the hardest throwers ever. Over the course of the three years researching our book on Dalko, we collectively investigated leads in the USA, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, looking for any motion pictures of Steve Dalkowski throwing a baseball. Oriole Paul Blair stated that "He threw the hardest I ever saw. Our team working on the Dalko Project have come to refer to video of Dalko pitching as the Holy Grail. Like the real Holy Grail, we doubt that such video will ever be found. The caveats for the experiment abound: Dalkowski was throwing off flat ground, had tossed a typical 150-some pitches in a game the night before, and was wild enough that he needed about 40 minutes before he could locate a pitch that passed through the timing device. 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 . He was 80. Note that Zeleznys left leg lands straight/stiff, thus allowing the momentum that hes generated in the run up to the point of release to get transferred from his leg to this throwing arm. She died of a brain aneurysm in 1994. But during processing, he ran away and ended up living on the streets of Los Angeles. Before getting COVID-19, Dalkowskis condition had declined. "[5], With complications from dementia, Steve Dalkowski died from COVID-19 in New Britain, Connecticut, on April 19, 2020. Hed let it go and it would just rise and rise.. It mattered only that once, just once, Steve Dalkowski threw a fastball so hard that Ted Williams never even saw it. He struck out 1,396 and walked 1,354 in 995 innings. We think this unlikely. Despite the pain, Dalkowski tried to carry on. 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.