Book Review: ‘High Heat’ is captivating history of baseball’s fastest pitchers

Bob Gibson believed the ability to pitch was not something earned or acquired or bought. It was a gift given to him at birth.

Every pitcher has a fastball. But not all fastballs are equal. Some are fast and some are faster. Like the ability to pitch, a blazing fastball – the ability to throw the ball faster than fast – is a gift. The ultimate gift.

Gibson was blessed with that gift too. And the former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher knew how to use it. He was an intimidating force on the mound who owned the inside corner and blew opposing hitters away with his heat. That heat was also the force that drove him to Cooperstown when his career was over.

His legendary fastball has also landed him in the age-old debate in baseball history: Whose fastball was the fastest ever? Tim Wendel sets out to find an answer in “High Heat: The Secret History of the Fastball and the Improbable Search for the Fastest Pitcher of All Time.”

Wendel journeys through the past and present to find his answer. Along the way, he realizes the fastball is certainly a gift. The fastball is something the pitcher is born with. A curveball or slider is learned over time.

“A curve ball is not something you can pick up overnight,” Gibson said in his autobiography. “It took my years to perfect mine.”

But a fastball can’t be learned or perfected. It can only be harnessed. And it isn’t a ticket to greatness. The gift can be a blessing or a curse.

“The mighty fastball could certainly ring up a lot of batters,” Wendel says, “but sooner or later the ride always seemed to get too bumpy for everyone involved.”

Achieving greatness with the fastball came down to how the pitcher responded when the ride got bumpy. Did he have the determination and drive to harness the gift? Or was the responsibility too much?

Nolan Ryan, one of the greatest fireballers of all-time, was nearly crushed by the responsibility early in his career with the New York Mets. He was supposed to be the next Gibson who was the best pitcher in the game at that time. Ryan could throw harder than any of his teammates, but he didn’t know how to pitch. The pressure to succeed was wearing on the 21 year-old in his first real taste of the big leagues in 1968. He couldn’t control his fastball, suffered constantly from blisters, and compiled a 6-9 record.

Ryan was so frustrated that he thought about quitting more than once. It was more trouble than he had bargained for, but he never saw his ability as a curse.

“Looking back on it, I’ve come to believe that if you’re blessed with the ability to throw hard, you have to consider all the factors,” Ryan said. “It’s a gift that you did nothing to earn. It was given to you and what you do with it is up to you. Once I realized that I said, ‘Hey, this is a blessing and I’m going to take advantage of it and be the best I can for as long as I can.’ Only after I decided that did I decide to stay.”

Ryan did just that, pitching for 27 seasons until he was 46 years old. He won 324 games and remains the all-time leader in strikeouts with 5,714 and holds the record for most no-hitters with seven.

Ryan did live up to the expectations that come with a 100 mph fastball. He validated the comparisons to Gibson and others. And he did it with a legendary work ethic and the same fierce competitiveness that defined Gibson. Ryan was the most feared pitcher since the Cards righty, using that howling fastball and a bulldog mentality to overwhelm his opponents.

Before Ryan was overwhelming hitters, Steve Dalkowski was scaring them. Not because he was dominant, but because he was overwhelmed by the gift.

Dalkowski may have been the fastest pitcher of all-time. But the wild lefty’s name won’t be found in the record books. His legend was written in minor league parks across the country. He never made it to the big leagues.

His story may be the most compelling too.

Dalkowski once threw a baseball through a wooden wall. Another times through the backstop into the stands. And another, the velocity of his fastball sent umpire Doug Harvey back 18 feet.

Dalkowski showed signs of promise throughout his career, throwing no-hitters and making strides with his control. But he could never sustain success long enough to even make the big leagues. In one game, he threw a one-hitter with 15 strikeouts, but he walked 17 and lost the game 9-8. The struggle became too much for him. Dalkowski didn’t have the discipline needed to harness the gift and soon enough, he blew out his elbow.

Just like that, the gift was gone. He never had the chance to turn his curse into a blessing like Ryan did.

The similarities between Ryan and Dalkowski and the differences between their careers create a fascinating contrast and picture of the fastest fastballs ever.

There is a fine line between greatness and failure for the greatest fireballers in history. “High Heat” makes that line clear with all the details in studying 12 of the fastest pitchers to ever throw a baseball.

So, who was the fastest pitcher of all-time? The debate will never have a definitive answer. But even more entertaining than that question and the debate is the story behind each fireballer. The search for the best becomes an epic tale about a man and a ball and the gift that connects them.

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So, who was the fastest pitcher of all-time? The debate will never have a definitive answer. But even more entertaining than that question and the debate is the story behind each fireballer. The search for the best becomes an epic tale about a man and a ball and the gift that connects them.

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