The Legend of Steve Dalkowski

[oldpro56]

Here is another teaser about Dalkowski from my book, "Beating About the Bushes"

One night in Salem, we had a hard throwing right hander who could dominate a game if he was on. Steve was the exact opposite at this point in his career. Dalkowski was our next pitcher in rotation and required to keep a detailed log of every pitch and result during the course of the game. The theory was it would provide knowledge on how to pitch each batter the next night and was a discipline imposed by every major league organization.

I walked into the clubhouse to get warm and found Steve charting the game via radio. The bullpen was close to the dougout and it was reasonable Cal would assume the assignment was being done even though Dalkowski wasn’t visible to him. “Slim, don’t tell Rip I’m in here. I was freezing my ass off on the bench and this is stupid.” Since I agreed with his logic, there was no conflict on my part.

We sat together for a couple of innings enjoying the warmth alone. When the announcer didn’t provide the typical description such as, “Ball one, fastball low and away”, Steve would bang the top of the radio and declare, “****, what was it?” Then he would settle down and record, in the proper slot, exactly what he would have thrown in the situation. It didn’t matter all his pitches would be coming at the batter from a completely opposite angle since he was left handed. Without a trace of a smile, he handed the chart over to Rip after the game.

[weams]

Here is another teaser about Dalkowski from my book, "Beating About the Bushes"

One night in Salem, we had a hard throwing right hander who could dominate a game if he was on. Steve was the exact opposite at this point in his career. Dalkowski was our next pitcher in rotation and required to keep a detailed log of every pitch and result during the course of the game. The theory was it would provide knowledge on how to pitch each batter the next night and was a discipline imposed by every major league organization.

I walked into the clubhouse to get warm and found Steve charting the game via radio. The bullpen was close to the dougout and it was reasonable Cal would assume the assignment was being done even though Dalkowski wasn’t visible to him. “Slim, don’t tell Rip I’m in here. I was freezing my ass off on the bench and this is stupid.” Since I agreed with his logic, there was no conflict on my part.

We sat together for a couple of innings enjoying the warmth alone. When the announcer didn’t provide the typical description such as, “Ball one, fastball low and away”, Steve would bang the top of the radio and declare, “****, what was it?” Then he would settle down and record, in the proper slot, exactly what he would have thrown in the situation. It didn’t matter all his pitches would be coming at the batter from a completely opposite angle since he was left handed. Without a trace of a smile, he handed the chart over to Rip after the game.

Great, great stuff. Thanks

[Frobby]

First of all, great stuff all through the thread on Dalkowski. Second, thanks for sharing excerpts from your book, Tim. I noticed that you said you were a teammate of Palmer's at one point. What was he like at that age, and could you tell how good he was going to become?

[oldpro56]

I think I know the best way to answer your question about Palmer. Look at the stats for Jim's first year in A ball. He was with Aberdeen and I was with Fox Cities in '64.

Jim--11W 3L 129IP 107K 130BB 2.51ERA

Tim--13W 2L 139IP 159K 33BB 2.20ERA

Look at Jim's walks and ERA. There is no way you can win averaging more than 9 walks per game unless you know how to pitch and Jim certainly did. He had the power and great curve ball to get out of trouble when he had to.

[oldpro56]

Just did some homework. Palmer led the Northern League in '64 in walks (130) and wild pitches (23) and was third in ERA. I was second in the league for ERA in the Midwest League and had 3 wild pitches. But I had 6 hit batters and Jim only had 5. Proves I was a mean SOB at 150 pounds.

[oldpro56]

Since the publishers of the forum have graciously granted me permission to promote my book, "Beating About the Bushes", I'll slip some segments in periodically unless there is an objection posted. Here is one of my favorites. Originally it was huge because of my over analyzing the tragic event. This is short and to the point.

YOU CAN’T PREDICT FAME

Thurman Munson was a star football, basketball and baseball player while attending Lehman High School in Canton, Ohio. He attended Kent State University earning All-America honor and in June of ’68, Munson was the New York Yankee’s top pick in the amateur Free Agent Draft, receiving a $75,000 signing bonus.

Thurman’s starting salary was the minimum $500 per month and only for the playing season. He began his career against us on a Sunday afternoon in Elmira. This was my first chance to promote the Mid-American Conference quality of players and for the Yankees to start him at this classification was validation to my touting.

I sought Munson out during batting practice to establish a bond since we both had been born in Canton, attended a MAC school and I was a veteran welcoming him to professional baseball. Our introduction was short, but comfortable, and neither of us knew the eventual outcome of our careers.

Bobby Darwin was handling first base coaching duties and couldn’t wait to return to the dugout after the first inning. “This guy doesn’t have a clue as to what he’s doing. He’s catching so wide open I can call every pitch without getting out of the coaching box. Let’s set up some signals.” This declaration was devastating to me from an ego standpoint, as this MAC All American was being accused of baseball fraud.

Bobby set up voice signals for each pitch thrown since it was easy to intercept, translate, and pass on to the batter. Darwin transferred information by using the hitter’s first name for a fastball and last name for something slower. Our three game series was so lopsided, there had to be a residual effect on every Binghamton pitcher’s salary negotiations during the winter just because of Thurman’s ignorance.

One month later, we played against Munson in his home park for a three game series. Thurman had corrected his problem and exhibited a leadership quality that wasn’t there in Elmira. He was in control of calling the game but also player positioning in the field. There was no looking into the dugout to see what his manager wanted, he was in charge and both teams knew this.

After the game, I offered to treat Thurman to dinner and he accepted because of our connecting in Elmira. It didn’t take long to ask about the correction in his catching technique since we could now talk at length both personally and professionally.

“Did you know what you were doing your first game?” This question was too vague and I went on to explain. “We were calling every pitch because you were catching wide open and Darwin could see every signal.” Munson took awhile to analyze what he heard and then a smile formed.

“I knew something was wrong because pro ball couldn’t be that far off from college. There were some of our pitchers really pissed at me for the reputation, bonus money, and starting at this level. There wasn’t a single coach along the way who saw this until an old Yankee scout saw me for the first home series. This is the way I grew up catching.” We had a great dinner and I didn’t feel there were any professional ethics violated.

[weams]

Since the publishers of the forum have graciously granted me permission to promote my book, "Beating About the Bushes", I'll slip some segments in periodically unless there is an objection posted. Here is one of my favorites. Originally it was huge because of my over analyzing the tragic event. This is short and to the point.

YOU CAN’T PREDICT FAME

Thurman Munson was a star football, basketball and baseball player while attending Lehman High School in Canton, Ohio. He attended Kent State University earning All-America honor and in June of ’68, Munson was the New York Yankee’s top pick in the amateur Free Agent Draft, receiving a $75,000 signing bonus.

Thurman’s starting salary was the minimum $500 per month and only for the playing season. He began his career against us on a Sunday afternoon in Elmira. This was my first chance to promote the Mid-American Conference quality of players and for the Yankees to start him at this classification was validation to my touting.

I sought Munson out during batting practice to establish a bond since we both had been born in Canton, attended a MAC school and I was a veteran welcoming him to professional baseball. Our introduction was short, but comfortable, and neither of us knew the eventual outcome of our careers.

Bobby Darwin was handling first base coaching duties and couldn’t wait to return to the dugout after the first inning. “This guy doesn’t have a clue as to what he’s doing. He’s catching so wide open I can call every pitch without getting out of the coaching box. Let’s set up some signals.” This declaration was devastating to me from an ego standpoint, as this MAC All American was being accused of baseball fraud.

Bobby set up voice signals for each pitch thrown since it was easy to intercept, translate, and pass on to the batter. Darwin transferred information by using the hitter’s first name for a fastball and last name for something slower. Our three game series was so lopsided, there had to be a residual effect on every Binghamton pitcher’s salary negotiations during the winter just because of Thurman’s ignorance.

One month later, we played against Munson in his home park for a three game series. Thurman had corrected his problem and exhibited a leadership quality that wasn’t there in Elmira. He was in control of calling the game but also player positioning in the field. There was no looking into the dugout to see what his manager wanted, he was in charge and both teams knew this.

After the game, I offered to treat Thurman to dinner and he accepted because of our connecting in Elmira. It didn’t take long to ask about the correction in his catching technique since we could now talk at length both personally and professionally.

“Did you know what you were doing your first game?” This question was too vague and I went on to explain. “We were calling every pitch because you were catching wide open and Darwin could see every signal.” Munson took awhile to analyze what he heard and then a smile formed.

“I knew something was wrong because pro ball couldn’t be that far off from college. There were some of our pitchers really pissed at me for the reputation, bonus money, and starting at this level. There wasn’t a single coach along the way who saw this until an old Yankee scout saw me for the first home series. This is the way I grew up catching.” We had a great dinner and I didn’t feel there were any professional ethics violated.

We really appreciate it. The insights are very real.

[oldpro56]

Here is a story (it didn't make it into my book) that has some irony to it. I think most in this forum know that Brooks Robinson recently had an accident at an event where he fell backwards off a dias and injured himself. Some of the reports mention Paul Blair also being at the event and observing Brook's fall. In 1963 prior to the Stockton Ports season there was a huge annual dinner to "Meet Your Ports!". Prior to the dinner there was a meet and greet set up in a seperate hall where fans could mingle with our team. Paul and Curt Motton went back to the dining area and took extra bottles of wine from the tables and stashed them under our table on the dias. The dinner was lengthy and when it came time for the keynote speaker, the two had consumed a great deal of the vino. In the middle of John Brodie's (49's quarterback) speech about what it means to be a professional athlete, Curt tipped back his chair and lost his balance. As he went over backwards he reached out and grabbed Paul's chair sending them both crashing out of sight. Fortunately the drop was only about 3 feet and neither was injured. Brodie was so into his speech he didn't realize anything had happened and stopped only when the audience broke out into laughter, realizing Blair and Motton were unhurt as they sheepishly put their chairs back on the platform and sat down.

[oldpro56]

More on Dalkowski from my book, "Beating About the Bushes"

At this point in his life, Steve was rapidly descending both professionally and personally. Some small credit should be given for his abstinence from alcohol most nights prior to a start, but days in between were often embarrassing. This produced conflict among pitchers, since he was taking up a valuable slot in the starting rotation and also the organization. His many times repeated stories of the past had grown old with everyone, even Ripken.

This is a cutthroat business with a short life cycle and the only thing saving Steve was his personality and honesty. The honesty was shown every two weeks on pay day. After cashing his check he would approach each player asking how much money had been borrowed. Whatever amount was named he paid without question. This routine had been going on for the last three years of his career and everyone understood.

One of the most damaging stories is that of Dalkowski’s IQ score of 65. This test is attributed to Weaver ordering every player on his 1963 Elmira team to submit to this abusive order. This was my first year in professional baseball and never was there a mention by any player as to this happening during my eight year career.

Dalkowski developed a deep seated hatred toward all efforts to corral his talent both on and off the field. Weaver became an irritant to Steve because of these efforts and Earl’s own personal weaknesses. To Steve, Weaver was forever “that little friggin midget.” Steve never mentioned anything about this testing, and if it had occurred, he either would have been too hung over to understand questions or deliberately answered incorrectly to get back at Weaver.

[Tony-OH]

More on Dalkowski from my book, "Beating About the Bushes"

At this point in his life, Steve was rapidly descending both professionally and personally. Some small credit should be given for his abstinence from alcohol most nights prior to a start, but days in between were often embarrassing. This produced conflict among pitchers, since he was taking up a valuable slot in the starting rotation and also the organization. His many times repeated stories of the past had grown old with everyone, even Ripken.

This is a cutthroat business with a short life cycle and the only thing saving Steve was his personality and honesty. The honesty was shown every two weeks on pay day. After cashing his check he would approach each player asking how much money had been borrowed. Whatever amount was named he paid without question. This routine had been going on for the last three years of his career and everyone understood.

One of the most damaging stories is that of Dalkowski’s IQ score of 65. This test is attributed to Weaver ordering every player on his 1963 Elmira team to submit to this abusive order. This was my first year in professional baseball and never was there a mention by any player as to this happening during my eight year career.

Dalkowski developed a deep seated hatred toward all efforts to corral his talent both on and off the field. Weaver became an irritant to Steve because of these efforts and Earl’s own personal weaknesses. To Steve, Weaver was forever “that little friggin midget.” Steve never mentioned anything about this testing, and if it had occurred, he either would have been too hung over to understand questions or deliberately answered incorrectly to get back at Weaver.

Great insights here. Your excerpts really paint a different picture of Dalkowski. Some would have you believe he was a simpleton based off that IQ test, but it's quite apparent that Dalkowski was much too much a character to be some simpleton who was unable to grasp instruction.

[oldpro56]

From my book, "Beating About the Bushes"

HOW TO NEGOTIATE A CONTRACT

My contract, for draft purposes, had been assigned to the Elmira club for the 1966 season. This did not mean you were going to play at this level, it only established the pecking order in the organization. The major league gamble was no one else would risk a draft choice to pick up your contract at a higher level. The minor league general manager was always assigned to initiate the process and my letter came from Gary Grimndl. Here is my second response after the refusal of a counter offer on my part.

Dear Gary,

Enclosed, please find my 1966 contract with the Elmira Club for $850 per month. The contract

Is unsigned as I don’t believe this to be satisfactory. Someone seems to have missed

the point I was trying to make concerning last years record as far as salary negotiations are

concerned. I am enclosing several articles from papers in both Kennewick, Washington and

Lewiston, Idaho.

The first is an article by Cal Ripken giving an evaluation of our club in Appleton for the 1964

season and just why we won the second half championship and then the playoffs. According

to Cal, the organization knew I could potentially have a slow start because of the short time

spent in spring training. Since I ended up leading all the pitchers and won the MVP this must

account for something.

The second clipping is the complete second half averages of both the Lewiston club and the

Atoms. As you can see, my record and earned run average are both quite good. My ERA is

.01 higher than the leading starting pitcher, Bill McMahon. I also pitched the second most

amount of innings that half. This is what I am basing my demands upon for I feel these

records reflect my performance this year.

As far as my not having played at Elmira, I do not believe this is my fault at all. I just play

the game and leave the player movement up to Baltimore. In 1964, at one point my record

was 8-0, leading the league in almost everything and yet I wasn’t moved one notch

upward. You are quite a ways off base when you state a player’s placement depends greatly

on your spring training showing. In the three years I have gone to spring training with AA and

down, I have never seen a ballplayer advanced from Thomasville to Daytona Beach to train

with the Rochester club. The only direction is always down or out, never up. A good friend of

mine once had a string of 33 scoreless innings at Thomasville and ended up going to Stockton

to play.

I don’t see how you can quote a good AA salary as every organization pays differently. One

organization I have in mind had several players on its team who were making almost twice as

much as the highest paid member of our team.

You need not bother to tell me to, “analyze my situation” for with my past record in professional

baseball, I would have no difficulty negotiating with any of the other 19 major league

organizations and if Baltimore does not feel I am worth this much, then they surely must not

hold any future plans for me and my release would be very greatly appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

Tim Sommer

[weams]

From my book, "Beating About the Bushes"

HOW TO NEGOTIATE A CONTRACT

My contract, for draft purposes, had been assigned to the Elmira club for the 1966 season. This did not mean you were going to play at this level, it only established the pecking order in the organization. The major league gamble was no one else would risk a draft choice to pick up your contract at a higher level. The minor league general manager was always assigned to initiate the process and my letter came from Gary Grimndl. Here is my second response after the refusal of a counter offer on my part.

Dear Gary,

Enclosed, please find my 1966 contract with the Elmira Club for $850 per month. The contract

Is unsigned as I don’t believe this to be satisfactory. Someone seems to have missed

the point I was trying to make concerning last years record as far as salary negotiations are

concerned. I am enclosing several articles from papers in both Kennewick, Washington and

Lewiston, Idaho.

The first is an article by Cal Ripken giving an evaluation of our club in Appleton for the 1964

season and just why we won the second half championship and then the playoffs. According

to Cal, the organization knew I could potentially have a slow start because of the short time

spent in spring training. Since I ended up leading all the pitchers and won the MVP this must

account for something.

The second clipping is the complete second half averages of both the Lewiston club and the

Atoms. As you can see, my record and earned run average are both quite good. My ERA is

.01 higher than the leading starting pitcher, Bill McMahon. I also pitched the second most

amount of innings that half. This is what I am basing my demands upon for I feel these

records reflect my performance this year.

As far as my not having played at Elmira, I do not believe this is my fault at all. I just play

the game and leave the player movement up to Baltimore. In 1964, at one point my record

was 8-0, leading the league in almost everything and yet I wasn’t moved one notch

upward. You are quite a ways off base when you state a player’s placement depends greatly

on your spring training showing. In the three years I have gone to spring training with AA and

down, I have never seen a ballplayer advanced from Thomasville to Daytona Beach to train

with the Rochester club. The only direction is always down or out, never up. A good friend of

mine once had a string of 33 scoreless innings at Thomasville and ended up going to Stockton

to play.

I don’t see how you can quote a good AA salary as every organization pays differently. One

organization I have in mind had several players on its team who were making almost twice as

much as the highest paid member of our team.

You need not bother to tell me to, “analyze my situation” for with my past record in professional

baseball, I would have no difficulty negotiating with any of the other 19 major league

organizations and if Baltimore does not feel I am worth this much, then they surely must not

hold any future plans for me and my release would be very greatly appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

Tim Sommer

Outstanding!

[oldpro56]

In looking back I realized I didn't really answer Frobby's question about what Palmer was like in the early days. During one winter ball game in '68 George Bamberger (he was our minor league pitching coach) and I were watching Palmer pitch and he was bringing heat. After each inning, Jim would walk off the mound grimacing and rotating his shoulder. George offered this to me. "When you have a bad arm you can't wipe your butt or comb your hair." He went on to offer a theory that Jim had attained success way too early for his somewhat fragile ego to take and always needed a crutch to fall back on if he failed. I came to the park early one day and only Jim was in the clubhouse. "Hey Slim, did you ever pull a muscle in your butt?" When I didn't answer right away he continued. "You know when you roll your leg over getting out of bed. I think I pulled a butt muscle." Baltimore had hired a trainer for winter ball that no one knew. He was single, never talked about girls and had a few questionable mannerisms. When I suggested Jim go have the trainer rub his butt for awhile, Jim suddenly healed. The real star on the team that you knew was destined for greatness was Don Baylor. He hit .376 in 125 at bats. My 1.16 ERA was what got me invited to the big camp along with the possibility of the first ever attempt at a players strike.

[Tony-OH]

In looking back I realized I didn't really answer Frobby's question about what Palmer was like in the early days. During one winter ball game in '68 George Bamberger (he was our minor league pitching coach) and I were watching Palmer pitch and he was bringing heat. After each inning, Jim would walk off the mound grimacing and rotating his shoulder. George offered this to me. "When you have a bad arm you can't wipe your butt or comb your hair." He went on to offer a theory that Jim had attained success way too early for his somewhat fragile ego to take and always needed a crutch to fall back on if he failed. I came to the park early one day and only Jim was in the clubhouse. "Hey Slim, did you ever pull a muscle in your butt?" When I didn't answer right away he continued. "You know when you roll your leg over getting out of bed. I think I pulled a butt muscle." Baltimore had hired a trainer for winter ball that no one knew. He was single, never talked about girls and had a few questionable mannerisms. When I suggested Jim go have the trainer rub his butt for awhile, Jim suddenly healed. The real star on the team that you knew was destined for greatness was Don Baylor. He hit .376 in 125 at bats. My 1.16 ERA was what got me invited to the big camp along with the possibility of the first ever attempt at a players strike.

Great stuff as always..

[Frobby]

I came to the park early one day and only Jim was in the clubhouse. "Hey Slim, did you ever pull a muscle in your butt?" When I didn't answer right away he continued. "You know when you roll your leg over getting out of bed. I think I pulled a butt muscle." Baltimore had hired a trainer for winter ball that no one knew. He was single, never talked about girls and had a few questionable mannerisms. When I suggested Jim go have the trainer rub his butt for awhile, Jim suddenly healed.

That's gold!