Plimpton reported that Hayden Siddhartha "Sidd" Finch was a rookie baseball pitcher in training with the New York Mets. He also wore only one shoe—a heavy hiker's boot—when pitching. Finch, who had never played baseball before, was attempting to decide between a sports career and one playing the French horn. What was astonishing about Finch was that he could pitch a fastball at an amazing , far above the record of a "mere" , with pinpoint accuracy, and without needing to warm up. The Mets' scouting report gave Finch a "9" on fastball velocity and control—"8" is the highest score on the scale.