{"id":9874,"date":"2010-12-09T07:01:09","date_gmt":"2010-12-09T07:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=9874"},"modified":"2010-12-12T11:28:07","modified_gmt":"2010-12-12T11:28:07","slug":"high-heat-by-tim-wendel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=9874","title":{"rendered":"High Heat by Tim Wendel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"HH\"High Heat: The secret history of the fastball and the improbable search for the fastest pitcher of all time by Tim Wendel (Da Capo Press, 2010), 268 pages<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 2010 MLB season has been hailed as the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcyear of the pitcher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and not only because it contained six no-hitters, two of the perfect variety.\u00c2\u00a0 The season marked the debut of two of the most highly touted pitching prospects in years.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stephen Strasburg and Aroldis Chapman caused a sensation every time they took the mound in their respective debut seasons, making crowds ooh and aah as they lit up the stadium speed gun with 100+ MPH offerings.<\/p>\n

Such reactions are unsurprising.\u00c2\u00a0 In High Heat, published just prior to the 2010 season, Tim Wendel reveals that baseball fans have always been fascinated by those rarest of beasts: true fire-ballers.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wendel is the author of eight books, including the novel Castros\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Curveball<\/a> which has been reviewed at BaseballGB previously.\u00c2\u00a0 In High Heat, he undertakes a journey to explore the often remarkable lives of some of the greatest hard-throwing pitchers in baseball history in what he describes as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the improbable search for the fastest pitcher of all time\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

Identifying the fastest pitcher might seem easy at first.\u00c2\u00a0 We are told the speed of every pitch at Major League ballparks and on TV broadcasts and can look up all the data on MLB.com\u00c2\u00a0 However, you rarely seem to get two sources giving you the exact same reading (it partly depends on where you take the reading from: out of the hand, half-way to the plate etc) and speed guns are a relatively recent phenomenon.<\/p>\n

Some of the most entertaining passages in High Heat are the descriptions of the various ways that people have tried to measure the speed of a pitcher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fastball.\u00c2\u00a0 None can quite match the\u00c2\u00a0dare-devil drama\u00c2\u00a0of Bob Feller\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcmotorcyle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 test in 1940, in which \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcRapid Robert\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 was recorded throwing a fastball just as a motorbike sped past at 86 MPH (the speed of the bike being used to gauge the speed of the pitch, which came out at a shade under 104.5 MPH).\u00c2\u00a0 Nothing more memorably demonstrates the fascination that has always surrounded the fastball.<\/p>\n

Even if you could go back and calculate the speed of every top pitcher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best fastball, that alone wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be enough to tell you who is the fastest pitcher in a more rounded sense.\u00c2\u00a0 High Heat tells you that pure heat alone is not enough.\u00c2\u00a0 While discussing current Major Leaguer David Price\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s development, the Tampa Bay Rays\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 pitching coordinator Dick Bosman made the following observation:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to go out there and face a lineup three or four times a game, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to need more than a fastball to do that.\u00c2\u00a0 I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care how hard you throw. Hitters can tune it up a little bit and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to get to you. You need other weapons. You need to know exactly what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing out there.\u00c2\u00a0 That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something that hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t changed since forever in this game\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s little doubt that the fastest pitchers are simply born with a rare talent that cannot be taught.\u00c2\u00a0 From giants like Randy Johnson and J. R. Richard to smaller guys like Billy Wagner and Tim Lincecum, stature alone doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t determine your speed.\u00c2\u00a0 What every pitcher needs to do is find a way to harness their special talent and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s much harder than it sounds.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wendel leads us down many interesting paths to explore the notion, found in the classic film Bull Durham, that having a great fastball can be a blessing or a curse.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reading of the initial struggles that greats such as Johnson, Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax had in turning themselves from wild hurlers to outstanding pitchers illustrates the point that hard work and perseverance are needed to turn a gift into an effective tool.\u00c2\u00a0 And that point is rammed home by the fate of a central character in High Heat: Steve Dalkowski. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDalko\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 never made it to the Big Leagues, despite having a blazing fastball that is the source of many a legend.\u00c2\u00a0 Indeed, the player was mythologized in Bull Durham through the character of Ebby \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcNuke\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 LaLoosh.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

There has always been a mythical air about a truly fast pitcher and part of the reason for that is the dark side of the art.\u00c2\u00a0 While thankfully only one Major Leaguer, Ray Chapman in 1920, has ever been killed by a pitch, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not an exaggeration to describe a pitcher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arm as a lethal weapon.\u00c2\u00a0 The section on Red Sox hitter Tony Conigliaro being hit in the face by a pitch in August 1967 gravely shows the part that fear can play in baseball: a pitcher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fear of killing an opponent, a hitter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fear of being beaned for the last time.\u00c2\u00a0 Many a fireballer has used that fear to their advantage in trying to intimidate their opponent.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

The subject leads Wendel to cite what is my favourite quote in the book, by the ever-quotable Reggie Jackson on Nolan Ryan:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153[Ryan was] the only guy who put the fear in me. Not because he could get me out but because he could kill me.\u00c2\u00a0 Every hitter likes fastballs like everybody likes ice cream. But you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like it when somebody\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stuffing it into you by the gallon. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how you felt when Nolan was throwing fastballs by you\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After exploring different eras, and the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcmechanics\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 of pitching, Wendel concludes the book by selecting a dozen of the fastest pitchers and making his choice as to who is the fastest of all time.\u00c2\u00a0 His argument is sound, but Wendel doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make it on the basis of convincing you he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s his choice, but he knows better than anyone that everyone else will have an opinion too.\u00c2\u00a0 As Bob Feller is quoted as saying: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153who was the fastest pitcher of all time? The world will never know, may never agree, but it sure is fun to talk about, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a lot of fun to read about too.\u00c2\u00a0 High Heat is an great concept that Wendel expertly brings to life.\u00c2\u00a0 Wendel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s enthusiastic, storytelling style keeps you turning the page and gives you a great insight into the legendary tales of the fastest pitchers throughout baseball history.<\/p>\n

Have you read \u00e2\u20ac\u0153High Heat\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below. Can you recommend any other similar books? If so, let us know.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The secret history of the fastball and the improbable search for the fastest pitcher of all time”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-9874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-baseball-books","tag-book-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9874"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9920,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9874\/revisions\/9920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}