When it comes to fastball tall tales, Steve Dalkowski remains baseball’s Bigfoot. And the last official mound sighting was in San Jose.
Dalko, perhaps the hardest-throwing pitcher in baseball history, was a wild-armed minor leaguer from 1957-65. His chances of ever reaching the majors flamed out after six injury-ravaged games for the San Jose Bees in ’65.
There are no reliable radar gun readings from Dalko’s days, so the legend will have to suffice. Longtime major leaguer Jay Johnstone was a teammate on that ’65 Bees team and also faced the right-hander at a previous stop.
“I actually saw him throw a ball that went through the backstop, through the screen, and hit a metal chair,” Johnstone, who went on to spend 15 full seasons in the majors.