High Heat, by Tim Wendel is a fascinating, 250 page conversation about the fastest pitcher ever. Joining Tim in the conversation are Bob Feller, Nolan Ryan, Billy Wagner, and a host of players, scouts, and biographers. Listening in will certainly warm up these gray winter days, while we are waiting for Spring Training to start.
Wendel's book is not only entertaining, but informative as well. For example, the author introduces the reader to one James Creighton, "the game's first true fireballer" who instead of lobbing the ball platewards, threw hard and with accuracy. While others began to throw hard, most had trouble being accurate. This lead to a series of decreases in the number of balls required for a walk which was orginally set at 9.
Wendel also paid a visit to the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama where he learned first-hand the biomechanics of the fastball.
The core of High Heat, however, is the ongoing discussion of who was the fastest pitcher of all time. That discussion continually returns to the same names, some of which most recognize--notably Feller, Ryan, Walter Johnson, and Sandy Koufax--and others--Amos Rusie and Steve Dalkowski--many do not. In many ways, this last hurler, Steve Dalkowski, is the central figure in the story. Dalkowski, who was the model on which wild-armed Nook LaLoosh from the movie Bull Durham was based, epitomizes the theme that the fastball is a gift which one may never master. For example, Sandy Koufax was 36-40 after his first 6 years in the big leagues; Nolan Ryan almost quit baseball very early in his major league career. These two hurlers mastered their high heat. Dalkowski, however, never did, registering such mind-boggling numbers as his line during the 1960 season for Class C Stockton when in 170 innings, he struck out 262 batters and walked 262 batters.
Wendel makes his selection as to the best fireballer of all time, but I'm not going to spoil the ending. It's well worth your time and effort to read High Heat, whether you are a baseball fan or someone with an interest in how the gifted sometimes struggle to suceed.
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