High Heat by Tim Wendel

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

The 2010 MLB season has been hailed as the ‘year of the pitcher’ and not only because it contained six no-hitters, two of the perfect variety.  The season marked the debut of two of the most highly touted pitching prospects in years. 

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.

Such reactions are unsurprising.  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. 

Wendel is the author of eight books, including the novel Castros’ Curveball which has been reviewed at BaseballGB previously.  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 “the improbable search for the fastest pitcher of all time”.

Identifying the fastest pitcher might seem easy at first.  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  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.

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’s fastball.  None can quite match the dare-devil drama of Bob Feller’s ‘motorcyle’ test in 1940, in which ‘Rapid Robert’ 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).  Nothing more memorably demonstrates the fascination that has always surrounded the fastball.

Even if you could go back and calculate the speed of every top pitcher’s best fastball, that alone wouldn’t be enough to tell you who is the fastest pitcher in a more rounded sense.  High Heat tells you that pure heat alone is not enough.  While discussing current Major Leaguer David Price’s development, the Tampa Bay Rays’ pitching coordinator Dick Bosman made the following observation:

“If you’re going to go out there and face a lineup three or four times a game, you’re going to need more than a fastball to do that.  I don’t care how hard you throw. Hitters can tune it up a little bit and they’re going to get to you. You need other weapons. You need to know exactly what you’re doing out there.  That’s something that hasn’t changed since forever in this game”.

There’s little doubt that the fastest pitchers are simply born with a rare talent that cannot be taught.  From giants like Randy Johnson and J. R. Richard to smaller guys like Billy Wagner and Tim Lincecum, stature alone doesn’t determine your speed.  What every pitcher needs to do is find a way to harness their special talent and that’s much harder than it sounds. 

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. 

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.  And that point is rammed home by the fate of a central character in High Heat: Steve Dalkowski. ‘Dalko’ never made it to the Big Leagues, despite having a blazing fastball that is the source of many a legend.  Indeed, the player was mythologized in Bull Durham through the character of Ebby ‘Nuke’ LaLoosh. 

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.  While thankfully only one Major Leaguer, Ray Chapman in 1920, has ever been killed by a pitch, it’s not an exaggeration to describe a pitcher’s arm as a lethal weapon.  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’s fear of killing an opponent, a hitter’s fear of being beaned for the last time.  Many a fireballer has used that fear to their advantage in trying to intimidate their opponent. 

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

“[Ryan was] the only guy who put the fear in me. Not because he could get me out but because he could kill me.  Every hitter likes fastballs like everybody likes ice cream. But you don’t like it when somebody’s stuffing it into you by the gallon. That’s how you felt when Nolan was throwing fastballs by you”.

After exploring different eras, and the ‘mechanics’ 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.  His argument is sound, but Wendel doesn’t make it on the basis of convincing you he’s right.  It’s his choice, but he knows better than anyone that everyone else will have an opinion too.  As Bob Feller is quoted as saying: “who was the fastest pitcher of all time? The world will never know, may never agree, but it sure is fun to talk about, isn’t it?”.

It’s also a lot of fun to read about too.  High Heat is an great concept that Wendel expertly brings to life.  Wendel’s 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.

Have you read “High Heat”? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below. Can you recommend any other similar books? If so, let us know.