You have to give the Braves credit for believing in the 1990s that they could develop almost anybody into a starting pitcher. After all, the team saw starters like Kevin Millwood, Steve Avery, and Denny Neagle help them win the division every year from 1991 to 2005—with the exception of the 1994 campaign, which was cut short by a strike—in addition to the Hall of Fame trio of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz.
Therefore, it makes perfect sense that the Braves switched to a gold medal-winning javelin thrower in the middle of their run, a prospect entirely different from the previous one.
Olympian Jan Železný, 30, traveled to Atlanta in 1996 to compete in the Summer Olympics. Železný, who is regarded as possibly the best javelin thrower in history, won his second gold medal that summer and continues to hold the record with a throw of 98.48 meters.
“He wanted to work out with the Braves when they went to the Olympics, Železný had said to [famous Czech baseball player and then-coach for the Prague Eagles Jan] Bagin,” former Braves international scout Bill Clark told MLB.com. “We shipped him a dozen baseballs and a pitching manual from Atlanta. It appears that he never did read the book.”
It seems logical that the Braves would want to take a chance and see if he could switch sports with his level of arm strength. Though he took a break from the diamond in 1996, Deion Sanders was still competing in the Major Leagues and professional football, so who knew what other two-sport standouts were out there just waiting to be found? Thus, with pitching coach Leo Mazzone available to offer guidance and assistance from Clark, who had a key role in the signings of Andruw Jones, Rafael Furcal, and other players, Železný showed up at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium wearing a T-shirt and track trousers. He was as prepared as ever to deliver his very first pitch.
“I worked out twice in Prague at Krč [now known as Eagles Stadium]. I learned how to hold a baseball from them,” Železný wrote in an email. “I didn’t care much because I was preparing myself for the Olympic Games at that time.”
Although the two throws’ fundamental mechanics are similar (Clark compares the javelin toss to a pitcher’s three-quarters or over-the-top release), there is one extremely important difference: Železný observes that in his track and field sport, he throws the javelin up, whereas in baseball, you throw down from the mound. That could clarify why Železný’s outrageous offer was used by The New York Times to launch their story.
