steve dalkowski fastest pitch

Nine teams eventually reached out. He was sometimes called the fastest pitcher in baseball history and had a fastball that probably exceeded 100 mph (160 km/h). Elizabeth City, NC (27909) Today. In an attic, garage, basement, or locker are some silver tins containing old films from long forgotten times. Just 5-foot-11 and 175, Dalkowski had a fastball that Cal Ripken Sr., who both caught and managed him, estimated at 110 mph. [23], Scientists contend that the theoretical maximum speed that a pitcher can throw is slightly above 100mph (161km/h). Accordingly, we will submit that Dalko took the existing components of throwing a baseball i.e., the kinetic chain (proper motions and forces of all body parts in an optimal sequence), which includes energy flow that is generated through the hips, to the shoulders, to elbow/forearem, and finally to the wrist/hand and the baseball and executed these components extremely well, putting them together seamlessly in line with Sudden Sams assessment above. I couldnt get in the sun for a while, and I never did play baseball again. According to Etchebarren his wilder pitches usually went high, sometimes low; "Dalkowski would throw a fastball that looked like it was coming in at knee level, only to see it sail past the batter's eyes".[18]. Ive been playing ball for 10 years, and nobody can throw a baseball harder than that, said Grammas at the time. Pitching can be analyzed in terms of a progressive sequence, such as balance and posture, leg lift and body thrust, stride and momentum, opposite and equal elbows, disassociation front hip and back shoulder, delayed shoulder rotation, the torso tracking to home plate, glove being over the lead leg and stabilized, angle of the forearm, release point, follow through, and dragline of back foot. Shelton says that Ted Williams once faced Dalkowski and called him "fastest ever." When I think about him today, I find myself wondering what could have been. He married a woman from Stockton. Ive never seen another one like it. It really rose as it left his hand. [21] Earl Weaver, who had years of exposure to both pitchers, said, "[Dalkowski] threw a lot faster than Ryan. On March 23, Dalkowski was used as a relief pitcher during a game against the New York Yankees. Steve Dalkowski, a career minor leaguer whose legend includes the title as "the fastest pitcher in baseball history" via Ted Williams, died this week in Connecticut at 80. On Christmas Eve 1992, Dalkowski walked into a laundromat in Los Angeles and began talking to a family there. Williams took three level, disciplined practice swings, cocked his bat, and motioned with his head for Dalkowski to deliver the ball. Consider the following remark about Dalkowski by Sudden Sam McDowell, an outstanding MLB pitcher who was a contemporary of Dalkowskis. The story is fascinating, and Dalko is still alive. Nope. This video is interesting in a number of ways: Bruce Jenners introduction, Petranoffs throwing motion, and Petranoffs lament about the (at the time) proposed redesign of the javelin, which he claims will cause javelin throwers to be built more like shot put and discus throwers, becoming more bulky (the latter prediction was not borne out: Jan Zelezny mastered the new-design javelin even though he was only 61 and 190 lbs, putting his physical stature close to Dalkos). 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. His story is still with us, the myths and legends surrounding it always will be. Unlike some geniuses, whose genius is only appreciated after they pass on, Dalkowski experienced his legendary status at the same time he was performing his legendary feats. 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. Bill Huber, his old coach, took him to Sunday services at the local Methodist church until Dalkowski refused to go one week. Just as free flowing as humanly possible. [26] In a 2003 interview, Dalkowski said that he was unable to remember life events that occurred from 1964 to 1994. 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. During his time with the football team, they won the division championship twice, in 1955 and 1956. Plagued by wildness, he walked more than he . In 2009, Shelton called him the hardest thrower who ever lived. Earl Weaver, who saw the likes of Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan, and Sam McDowell, concurred, saying, Dalko threw harder than all of em., Its the gift from the gods the arm, the power that this little guy could throw it through a wall, literally, or back Ted Williams out of there, wrote Shelton. 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. We thought the next wed hear of him was when he turned up dead somewhere. Ron Shelton, who while playing in the Orioles system a few years after Dalkowski heard the tales of bus drivers and groundskeepers, used the pitcher as inspiration for the character Nuke LaLoosh in his 1988 movie, Bull Durham. 2023 Marucci CATX (10) Review | Voodoo One Killer. 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. 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. 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? ", 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. 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. Within a few innings, blood from the steak would drip down Baylocks arm, giving batters something else to think about. This was how he lived for some 25 yearsuntil he finally touched bottom. 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. The fastest pitch ever recorded was thrown by current Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman. As impressive as Dalkowskis fastball velocity was its movement. Moreover, even if the physics of javelin throwing were entirely straightforward, it would not explain the physics of baseball throwing, which requires correlating a baseballs distance thrown (or batted) versus its flight angle and velocity, an additional complicating factor being rotation of the ball (such rotation being absent from javelin throwing). [7][unreliable source?] [4] Moving to the Northern League in 195859, he threw a one-hitter but lost 98 on the strength of 17 walks. Dalkowski struggled with alcoholism all his life. Used with permission. Some put the needle at 110 mph but we'll never know. Extreme estimates place him throwing at 125 mph, which seems somewhere between ludicrous and impossible. In doing so, it puts readers on the fields and at the plate to hear the buzzing fastball of a pitcher fighting to achieve his major league ambitions. Which, well, isn't. In his first five seasons a a pro he'd post K/9IP rates of 17.6, 17.6, 15.1, 13.9, and 13.1. "[5], With complications from dementia, Steve Dalkowski died from COVID-19 in New Britain, Connecticut, on April 19, 2020. I first met him in spring training in 1960, Gillick said. Fifty-odd years ago, the baseball world was abuzz with stories about Orioles pitching prospect Steve Dalkowski. That may be, but for our present purposes, we want simply to make the case that he could have done as good or better than 110 mph. Dalkowski fanned Roger Maris on three pitches and struck out four in two innings that day. Though he pitched from the 1957 through the 1965 seasons, including single A, double A, and triple A ball, no video of his pitching is known to exist. Our content is reader-supported, which means that if you click on some of our links, we may earn a commission. And hes in good hands. Follow him on Twitter @jay_jaffe and Mastodon @jay_jaffe. It did not take long "three straight pitches," Dalkowski recalled, through the blur of 46 very hard years. 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. Seriously, while I believe Steve Dalkowski could probably hit 103 mph and probably threw . In 1970, Sports Illustrateds Pat Jordan (himself a control-challenged former minor league pitcher) told the story of Williams stepping into the cage when Dalkowski was throwing batting practice: After a few minutes Williams picked up a bat and stepped into the cage. He was 80. When he throws, the javelin first needs to rotate counterclockwise (when viewed from the top) and then move straight forward. He was sometimes called the fastest pitcher in baseball history and had a fastball that probably exceeded 100mph (160km/h). [14] Dalkowski pitched a total of 62 innings in 1957, struck out 121 (averaging 18 strikeouts per game), but won only once because he walked 129 and threw 39 wild pitches. 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. PRAISE FOR DALKO With Weaver in 1962 and 1963 . Dalkowski, who later sobered up but spent the past 26 years in an assisted living facility, died of the novel coronavirus in New Britain, Connecticut on April 19 at the age of 80. Petranoff threw the old-design javelin 99.72 meters for the world record in 1983. We werent the first in this effort and, likely, will not be the last. Slowly, Dalkowski showed signs of turning the corner. In a few days, Cain received word that her big brother was still alive. - YouTube The only known footage of Steve Dalkowski and his throwing motion. The myopic, 23-year-old left-hander with thick glasses was slated to head north as the Baltimore Orioles short-relief man. The American Tom Petranoff, back in 1983, held the world record for the old-design javelin, with a throw of 99.72 meters (cf. Dalkowski's raw speed was aided by his highly flexible left (pitching) arm,[10] and by his unusual "buggy-whip" pitching motion, which ended in a cross-body arm swing. Dalkowski never made the majors, but the tales of his talent and his downfall could nonetheless fill volumes. In 2009, he traveled to California for induction into the Baseball Reliquarys Shrine of the Eternals, an offbeat Hall of Fame that recognizes the cultural impact of its honorees, and threw out the first pitch at a Dodgers game, rising from a wheelchair to do so. 2023 Easton Ghost Unlimited Review | Durable or not? 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). Davey Johnson, a baseball lifer who played with him in the. He became one of the few gringos, and the only Polish one at that, among the migrant workers. 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. No one ever threw harder or had more of a star-crossed career than Steve Dalkowski. Something was amiss! They couldnt keep up. The family convinced Dalkowski to come home with them. 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. I threw batting practice at Palomar years later to cross train, and they needed me to throw 90 mph so their batters could see it live. Gripping and tragic, Dalko is the definitive story of Steve "White Lightning" Dalkowski, baseball's fastest pitcher ever. Dalkowski was invited to major league spring training in 1963, and the Orioles expected to call him up to the majors. He grew up and played baseball in New Britain, CT and thanks to his pitching mechanics New Britain, CT is the Home of the World's Fastest Fastballer - Steve Dalkowski. Known for having trouble controlling the strike zone, he was . Best Youth Baseball Bats After they split up two years later, he met his second wife, Virginia Greenwood, while picking oranges in Bakersfield. It is certain that with his high speed and penchant for throwing wild pitches, he would have been an intimidating opponent for any batter who faced him. Cain brought balls and photos to Grandview Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center for her brother to sign, and occasionally visitors to meet. Ryans 1974 pitch is thus the fastest unofficial, yet reliably measured and recorded, pitch ever. I think baseball and javelin cross training will help athletes in either sport prevent injury and make them better athletes. Also, when Zelezny is releasing the javelin, watch his left leg (he throws right-handed, and so, as in baseball, its like a right-hander hitting foot-strike as he gets ready to unwind his torque to deliver and release the baseball). Perhaps he wouldnt have been as fast as before, but he would have had another chance at the big leagues. He handled me with tough love. 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. In 62 innings he allowed just 22 hits and struck out 121, but he also walked 129, threw 39 wild pitches and finished 1-8 with an 8.13 ERA.. Steve Dalkowski's pitches didn't rip through the air, they appeared under mystified Ted Williams' chin as if by magic. [8] He began playing baseball in high school, and also played football as a quarterback for New Britain High School. 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. Thats when Dalkowski came homefor good. In order to keep up the pace in the fields he often placed a bottle at the end of the next row that needed picking. Steve Dalkowski could never run away from his legend of being the fastest pitcher of them all. If the front leg collapses, it has the effect of a shock absorber that deflects valuable momentum away from the bat and into the batters leg, thus reducing the exit velocity of the ball from the bat. No one knows how fast Dalkowski could throw, but veterans who saw him pitch say he was the fastest of all time. Dalkowski warmed up and then moved 15 feet (5m) away from the wooden outfield fence. The Gods of Mount Olympus Build the Perfect Pitcher, Steve Dalkowski Was El Velocista in 1960s Mexican Winter League Baseball, Light of the World Scripture Memorization Course. All in the family: how three generations of Jaquezes have ruled West Coast basketball. He drew people to see what this was all about. Dalkowski was fast, probably the fastest ever. 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. Best USA bats For the effect of these design changes on javelin world records, see Javelin Throw World Record Progression previously cited. 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. 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. Previewing the 2023 college baseball season: Teams and players to watch, key storylines, Road to the men's Frozen Four: Conference tournaments at a glance, Top moments from Brady, Manning, Jordan and other athletes hosting 'Saturday Night Live', Dr. A's weekly risers and fallers: Jeremy Sochan, Christian Wood make the list. 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 received help from the Association of Professional Ball Players of America (APBPA) periodically from 1974 to 1992 and went through rehabilitation. But was he able consistently to reach 110 mph, as more reasonable estimates suggest? Baseball was my base for 20 years and then javelin blended for 20 years plus. That gave him incentive to keep working faster. Consider, for instance, the following video of Tom Petranoff throwing a javelin. When his career ended in 1965, after he threw out his arm fielding a bunt, Dalkowski became a migrant worker in California. All major league baseball data including pitch type, velocity, batted ball location, A throw of 99.72 meters with the old pre-1986 javelin (Petranoffs world record) would thus correspond, with this conservative estimate, to about 80 meters with the current post-1991 javelin. [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). Pitching primarily in the Baltimore Orioles organization, Dalkowski walked 1,236 batters and fanned 1,324 in 956 minor-league innings. What set him apart was his pitching velocity. At only 511 and 175 pounds, what was Dalkowskis secret? This video consists of Dalkowski. The future Hall of Fame skipper cautioned him that hed be dead by age 33 if he kept drinking to such extremes. He also allowed just two homers, and posted a career-best 3.04 ERA. Despite the pain, Dalkowski tried to carry on. Steve Dalkowski throws out a . A professional baseball player in the late 50s and early 60s, Steve Dalkowski (19392020) is widely regarded as the fastest pitcher ever to have played the game. But all such appeals to physical characteristics that might have made the difference in Dalkos pitching speed remain for now speculative in the extreme. At Pensacola, he crossed paths with catcher Cal Ripken Sr. and crossed him up, too. Lets therefore examine these features. Dalko explores one man's unmatched talent on the mound and the forces that kept ultimate greatness always just beyond his reach.For the first time, Dalko: The Untold Story of Baseball's Fastest Pitcher unites all of the eyewitness accounts from the coaches . He was 80. [25] He drank heavily as a player and his drinking escalated after the end of his career. Javelin throwers develop amazing arm strength and speed. 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. As it turns out, hed been pitching through discomfort and pain since winter ball, and some had noticed that his velocity was no longer superhuman. "It was truly a magical time back then when Stevie pitched his high school game there," said. A far more promising avenue is the one we are suggesting, namely, to examine key components of pitching mechanics that, when optimally combined, could account for Dalkos phenomenal speed. 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. 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. 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. 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. Whats possible here? Dalkowski began his senior season with back-to-back no-hitters, and struck out 24 in a game with scouts from all 16 teams in the stands. He often walked more batters than he struck out, and many times his pitches would go wild sometimes so wild that they ended up in the stands. [16] Either way, his arm never fully recovered. We see hitting the block in baseball in both batting and pitching. Granted, the physics for javelins, in correlating distance traveled to velocity of travel (especially velocity at the point of release), may not be entirely straightforward. 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. He signed with the Orioles for a $4,000 bonus, the maximum allowable at the time, but was said to have received another $12,000 and a new car under the table. Hes the fireballer who can summon nearly unthinkable velocity, but has no idea where his pitch will go. But how much more velocity might have been imparted to Petranoffs 103 mph baseball pitch if, reasoning counterfactually, Zelezny had been able to pitch it, getting his fully body into throwing the baseball while simultaneously taking full advantage of his phenomenal ability to throw a javelin? 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. Perhaps that was the only way to control this kind of high heat and keep it anywhere close to the strike zone. 10. Why was he so wild, allowing few hits but as many walks as strike outs. 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. He died on April 19 in New Britain, Conn., at the age of 80 from COVID-19. Dalkowski experienced problems with alcohol abuse. The performance carried Dalkowski to the precipice of the majors. Steve Dalkowski met Roger Maris once. FILE - This is a 1959 file photo showing Baltimore Orioles minor league pitcher Steve Dalkowski posed in Miami, Fla. Dalkowski, a hard-throwing, wild left-hander who inspired the creation of the . Dalkowski signed with the Orioles in 1957 at age 21. [13] In separate games, Dalkowski struck out 21 batters, and walked 21 batters. Moreover, they highlight the three other biomechanical features mentioned above, leaving aside arm strength/speed, which is also evident. He. Women's Champ Week predictions: Which teams will win the auto bids in all 32 conferences? At Kingsport, Dalkowski established his career pattern. I lasted one semester, [and then] moved to Palomar College in February 1977. * * * O ne of the first ideas the Orioles had for solving Steve Dalkowski's control problems was to pitch him until he was so tired he simply could not be wild. Good . The current official record for the fastest pitch, through PITCHf/x, belongs to Aroldis Chapman, who in 2010 was clocked at 105.1 mph. Cal Ripken Sr. guessed that he threw up to 115 miles per hour (185km/h). He was demoted down one level, then another. [citation needed], Dalkowski often had extreme difficulty controlling his pitches. It turns out, a lot more than we might expect. One evening he started to blurt out the answers to a sports trivia game the family was playing. Dalkowski, 'fastest pitcher in history,' dies at 80, Smart backs UGA culture after fatal crash, arrests, Scherzer tries to test pitch clock limits, gets balk, UFC's White: Miocic will fight Jones-Gane winner, Wolverines' Turner wows with 4.26 40 at combine, Jones: Not fixated on Cowboys' drought, just '23, Flyers GM: Red Wings nixed van Riemsdyk trade, WR Addison to Steelers' Pickett: 'Come get me', Snowboarding mishap sidelines NASCAR's Elliott, NHL trade tracker: Latest deals and grades, Inside the long-awaited return of Jon Jones and his quest for heavyweight glory. He also learned, via a team-administered IQ test, that Dalkowski scored the lowest on the team. Ted Williams, arguably one of the best batting eyes in the history of the game, who faced Bob Feller and numerous others, instead said Steve Dalkowski was the fastest pitcher ever. Its like something out of a Greek myth. This allowed Dalkowski to concentrate on just throwing the ball for strikes. He also had 39 wild pitches and won just one game. We think this unlikely. He had it all and didnt know it. 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. White port was Dalkowskis favorite. He'd post BB/9IP rates of 18.7, 20.4, 16.3, 16.8, and 17.1. And because of the arm stress of throwing a javelin, javelin throwers undergo extensive exercise regimens to get their throwing arms into shape (see for instance this video at the 43 second mark) . Williams, whose eyes were said to be so sharp that he could count the stitches on a baseball as it rotated toward the plate, told them he had not seen the pitch, that Steve Dalkowski was the fastest pitcher he ever faced and that he would be damned if he would ever face him again if he could help it. In the fourth inning, they just carried him off the mound.. On the morning of March 22, 1963, he was fitted for a major league uniform, but later that day, facing the Yankees, he lost the feeling in his left hand; a pitch to Bobby Richardson sailed 15 feet to the left of the catcher. He was back on the pitching mound, Gillick recalls. Teddy Ballgame, who regularly faced Bob Feller and Herb Score and Ryne Duren, wanted no part of Dalko. The minors were already filled with stories about him. At loose ends, Dalkowski began to work the fields of Californias San Joaquin Valley in places like Lodi, Fresno, and Bakersfield. This goes to point 2 above. 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! . Steve Dalkowski will forever be remembered for his remarkable arm. Dalkowski, who once struck out 24 batters in a minor league game -- and walked 18 -- never made it to the big leagues. 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. No high leg kick like Bob Feller or Satchel Paige, for example. If we think of a plane perpendicular to the ground and intersecting the pitching mound and home plate, then Aroldis Chapman, who is a lefty rotates beyond that plane about 65 degrees counterclockwise when viewed from the top (see Chapman video at the start of this article). We give the following world record throw (95.66 m) by Zelezny because it highlights the three other biomechanical features that could have played a crucial role in Dalkowski reaching 110 mph. Just 5-foot-11 and 175, Dalkowski had a fastball that Cal Ripken Sr., who both caught and managed him, estimated at 110 mph. He was a puzzle that even some of the best teachers in baseball, such as Richards, Weaver, and Rikpen, couldnt solve. So here are the facts: Steve Dalkowski never played in the majors. Zelezny, from the Czech Republic, was in Atlanta in 1996 for the Olympics, where he won the gold for the javelin. 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. He is sometimes called the fastest pitcher in baseball history and had a fastball that probably exceeded 100 mph (160 km/h). He has been a recurring guest on MLB Network and a member of the BBWAA since 2011. 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. Some suggest that he reached 108 MPH at one point in his career, but there is no official reading. During one 53-inning stretch, he struck out 111 and walked only 11.