The Knuckleball:Greatest Pitch Ever
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX_xNiza1rg]
Growing up there was only one professional athlete who shared the same last name as me, Charlie Hough. For those who have never heard of Charlie Hough let me enlighten you. He began his career as a traditional pitcher in in 1966, four years later he learned to throw a knuckleball and a few years later he became one of the go to guys for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hough won 216 games in his 25 year career and threw the first pitch in the Florida Marlins history.
Needless to say as I became a fan late in his career, yet he was one of my sports heros growing which led to an obsession with the odd pitch called the knuckleball. The knuckleball doesn’t require great power or speed, no the ball is thrown in the 55-75 mile per hour zone, which is very slow for a major league pitcher. The idea is for the ball not to spin which creates a unique air flow over the stitches of the ball sending it in all sorts of directions. This makes it difficult for hitters to hit and for catchers to catch. Charlie Lau once commented, “There are two theories on catching the knuckleball… unfortunately, neither of the theories work.” You really must see a knuckleball that is working to appreciate it, I love it and if the chance to see one comes up at Kaufman this year I’ll post it here and you are invited to join me for the game.
With baseball training camps opening up this week I thought it was a good time to find out who is throwing a knuckleball in the big leagues today. My research has given me 3 names to keep an eye on this season if you wish to see the greatest pitch ever invented.
Tim Wakefield (Boston Red Sox) - Tim began his professional career as an infielder. After a scout told him he would never make it beyond AA baseball with his skill, he learned to pitch a knuckleball. He has now pitched in 15 Major League seasons and trails only Roger Clemens in Red Sox’s career wins list with a total of 168. He will pitch again this year for the Red Sox.
Charlie Haeger (Chicago White Sox) - Charlie was originally drafted as a “traditional” pitcher. After going 1-7 in the minors he decided to try his hand at professional golf. During that time he practiced with the knuckleball and has seen some success going between the Majors and AAA ball the last two seasons. He is in spring training with the White Sox again and fighting for a Major League roster spot.
R.A. Dickey (Seattle Mariners) - Dickey began his career with the Texas Rangers. He throws a weird version of the Knuckleball he calls “The Thang.” In one of the weirdest baseball stories ever he was accused of stealing this pitch from a high school pitcher named Paul Snyder. The accusations even lead to a lawsuit over a “stolen” pitch. In the end his name was cleared. Dickey has struggled in recent years, this year he is fighting to make the Mariners big league roster, well see.
So, if you love baseball and think you’d like to go pro in spite of your lack of skill it is time to get working on the greatest pitch in the sport, the amazing Knuckleball.
The last pitch is what usually ends up happening to a knuckleballer….especially against the Yanks.
Good post. I want to enhance our reader’s knowledge of the pitch….from wikipedia:
“Regardless how the pitch is gripped, the purpose of the knuckleball is to avoid the rotational spin normally created by the act of throwing a ball. In the absence of this rotation, the ball’s trajectory is significantly affected by variations in airflow caused by differences between the smooth surface of the ball and the stitching of its seams. The asymmetric drag that results will tend to deflect the trajectory toward the side with the stitches.
Over the distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate, the effect of these forces is that the knuckleball can “flutter” or “dance” or “jiggle”, or actually curve in two opposite directions over its flight. A pitch thrown completely without spin is actually less desirable, however, than one with only a very slight spin (so that the ball completes perhaps between one-half and one rotation on its way from the pitcher to the batter). This will cause the position of the stitches to change somewhat as the ball travels, and therefore the drag that gives the ball its motion, thus making its flight even more erratic. Even a ball thrown without rotation will “flutter” somewhat, due to the ‘apparent wind’ it feels as its trajectory changes throughout its flight path.”
Also a great resource for those wanting more info on how to pitch this puppy: http://www.oddball-mall.com/knuckleball/k101.htm.
Brian, I am pretty sure that your list of current major leaguers is accurate. I saw Ryan Jensen pitch for the Royals in 2005, but he had gone away from throwing the Knuckler by then. Maybe he should go back to throwing it, since he has not played since the Royals in 05.
Also, I want to mention three former major leaguers that pitched this beautiful pitch.
Wade Boggs (A Hall of Famer). He didn’t get in the Hall by pitching, but when he did pitch, it was his favorite pitch. Pitched twice in his career (2.1 INN). Threw 16 knucklers in a 17 pitch inning in 97.
Then there is the Niekro brothers, Joe and Phil who 487 wins as knuckleball throwers. Joe is in the Hall of Fame.
im eric chavaes i pitch for the yankees this is how it works and how the air flows around the ball thanks ~ eric