Quote:
Originally Posted by Always Red
I had a chance to talk with John Bench for a few minutes this spring at a local sports stag dinner.
I asked him who threw the very hardest during his years behind the plate, and he did not hesitate in his answer: "Wayne Simpson wore me out; no one threw harder than he did in 1970."
I only had a minute with him, and I'd have loved to have asked him who was pitching when he caught the ball bare handed. I've read that legend many times, and it's always been an anonymous pitcher. This is the first time that I've read it was Maloney. I think Maloney threw as hard, if not harder, than Simpson did?
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Maloney threw as hard as Gibson and almost as hard as Koufax. He's unsung, but he was a rival of those guys.