Quote:
Originally Posted by jingram058
I have to respond. Think what you will of me, I don't care. It would seem that I am the only one in this thread who played real no-shit baseball at a competitive level. I don't know if you folks, who I very highly respect when it comes to all the nuances of baseball cards, realize what you're saying, but you don't know jack about the game itself. Yes, players at the MLB level are bigger, stronger, faster today. And they break down with incredible regularity, protecting their $$$. But. I've played the game. I know all about 85 to 90 mph fastballs. I could hit them pretty well, if I guessed right. I know that there is a WORLD of difference between 85 to 90 to 95 and 95 to 100. Above 95, you will hear the baseball, whizzing. You won't catch up to it, unless you're something special, even if you know it's coming. If you think Walter Johnson topped out at 95 mph, you're delusional. If that was the case, and if I could somehow go back in time, you'd be collecting MY t205 an t206 cards today! I don't give a flying f what idiotic facts you're reading. They're wrong. They called him "The Big Train" because his fastball, when he put on the gas, made noise. I'm done with listening to this goofy, armchair nonsense.
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Well, first, I bow down to your obvious superiority. You played baseball so clearly you are the expert.
However, I don't think you ever made baseball's Hall of Fame, so I will defer to an even higher level of authority: HOF pitcher, broadcaster, and longtime student of the game, Jim Kaat. On page 123 of his book, "Still Pitching", he says of Whitey Ford:
"A year later I hooked up with Ford again, this time in Minnesota, where the bullpens were side by side, separated by a chain-link fence. You were so close you could practically reach across and shake hands with the guy you were pitching against. We're warming up and I could hear Whitey's fastball - "...whirrrrrr..." - it had that spin on it.
Sorry, but until you make the Hall of Fame, Kaat remains a higher authority than you, and he bears witness to the fact little junk ball pitcher Whitey Ford could also throw fastballs that "made noise." Above, you say a fastball achieves "noise" at and above 95 mph. Are you saying Ford threw that hard?
Whitey was also known for scuffing up baseballs, but that was standard fare in the days of Walt and Chris, Walter himself may not have doctored balls, but his catchers, infielders, or members of the opposing teams often did, plus the normal wear of baseballs that remained in play until they were lost in the stands.
And, by the way, one of Matty's nicknames was "Big 6." Also a reference to a train.