Voting Station

Steve Dalkowski

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Baseball Player

The Resume

    (June 3, 1939-April 19, 2020)
    Pitched in the minor leagues for the Baltimore Orioles (1957-64)
    Fastball was nicknamed 'White Lightning'
    Reportedly threw over 100 MPH fastballs

Why he might be annoying:

    He was an alcoholic who drank 24 scotch and waters the night before a start.
    He had an IQ of 75.
    According to former teammate Steve Barber, he rarely washed his clothes.
    He walked 1,354 batters in 995 minor league innings.
    His lifetime pro record was 46-80 with a 5.59 ERA.
    Various claims that his fastball traveled at 110 MPH are most likely false.
    He was very erratic on the mound.
    He once hit a batter so hard his earlobe fell off. Another one of his pitches broke an umpire's mask and sent him to the hospital.
    The only time he was officially clocked, he only threw 93.5 MPH (1958).
    He lost a one-hitter, 9-8.
    He struck out 24 in a minor league game, but lost 8-4 by walking 18, hitting 4, and throwing 6 wild pitches (August 31, 1957).
    At one point a roommate took his paycheck and gave him an 'allowance' so that he wouldn't blow the money on drinks.
    His excessive drinking gave him dementia.
    He became a migrant farm worker after his baseball career.
    He divorced.
    He was arrested repeatedly for fighting and drunkenness.
    He pitched in nine leagues in nine years.
    He quit baseball after brief stints in the Pirates and Angels organizations (1965).

Why he might not be annoying:

    Many said his fastball was at least 105 MPH.
    He threw a no-hitter striking out 18 batters.
    He struck out 262 in 170 innings in one season (1960).
    He struck out 1,396 batters during his pro career.
    The only time he pitched in a major league park, he struck out the side on 12 pitches (1959).
    Ted Williams called him the fastest pitcher he ever saw.
    The day he was told he made the Major Leagues, he blew out his arm (March 22, 1963).
    In his last 57 innings in 1962, he struck out 110, walked only 11, and had a 0.11 ERA.
    Earl Weaver discovered his low IQ. He gave him basic instructions on how to pitch which increased his effectiveness (1962).
    His fear of killing a batter contributed to his erratic pitching.
    His fastball dropped off to 90 MPH after his arm injury.
    He led his high school football team to back-to-back division titles (1955-1956).
    He built up his wrists as a kid, allowing him to get more 'snap' on the baseball.
    He once threw a ball 450 feet from the centerfield fence of a stadium over its press box.
    On a $5 bet, he threw a fastball through an outfield fence.
    The one time he was clocked, the combination of having pitched the night before, having to pitch for 40 minutes beforehand, and having no pitching mound all contributed to the 93.5 MPH speed.
    Other than dementia, he is in physical good health recovering from alcoholism.
    His second wife, Virginia, died of a brain aneurysm (1994).
    He threw out the first pitch at a Baltimore Orioles game (September 8, 2003).

Credit: Freedom Rock


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 88.89% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 7 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 64 Votes: 53.12% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 7 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 26 Votes: 57.69% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 28 Votes: 53.57% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 44 Votes: 65.91% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 103 Votes: 72.82% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 103 Votes: 60.19% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 71 Votes: 53.52% Annoying