One.
The number is a rarity in the world of sports, but there is an exception that I find increasingly disturbing. You see, this tiny number refers to the amount of pitchers in Major League Baseball who feature the pitch known as the knuckleball. The only active practitioner, Boston's Tim Wakefield, is in his 14th season with the club, and is closing in on breaking the record for most wins by a Redsox pitcher in history (held by Cy Young and Roger Clemens). The magic number to beat is 192, and this is most certainly within reach if the knuckleballer can stay in the game for another four to five seasons and keep up with his reputation for providing quality starts and giving his team an opportunity to win games. With a career like Wakefields and a pitch that prolongs careers (Phil Niekro played until he was 48), it would seem that clubs would be interested in the possibility of working on developing some good knuckleball pitchers.
This, however, is not the case. It now seems that my favorite pitch in all of baseball slowly seems to be going the way of the Tyrannosaurus Rex... extinct.
While many teams continue to ignore younger pitchers who cant light up 90+ on a radar gun, it is not surprising to find the only organization in baseball that seems to be interested in young knuckleball pitchers is the Boston Redsox. This may stem from the fact that Boston has more of an ability to instruct and develop these pitchers with Wakefield in the mix of things. Nevertheless, with the exception of the Chicago White Sox (who have Charlie Haeger) the Redsox have held a sort of monopoly on knuckleball pitchers in the minor leagues over the past few years with names such as John Barnes and Charlie Zink. While Barnes is now a minor league free agent, Zink is pitching exceptionally well for AAA Pawtucket, and has already been dubbed the next Tim Wakefield by those within the organization. Hopefully his great numbers on the year will result in a short call-up opportunity now that Buchholz has been placed on the DL. While other names of recent knuckleballers come to mind such as Jared Fernandez (who had breif stints with the Reds, Astros, and Brewers), R.A. Dickey (who is currently pitching for the Seattle Mariners AAA team), and Steve Sparks (who is now retired), it is not surprising to note that most of these pitchers have had problems staying in one place for an extended period of time.
In any case, the thing I find disturbing is that many people who follow baseball simply don't give the knuckleball a chance in the first place. Casual fans claim that they could "lob the ball up to the plate in the same way", and coaches are too quick to pull the plug on a bad situation, or simply banish the pitch after one bad outing. I remember my high school coach approaching me after I had just given up a home run during one of my games, and being very angry that I had given up the longball on a "circus pitch". I explained that the home run came on a high curve-ball, and suddenly he was much more sympathetic, and simply told me to keep it down next time. It is this lack of patience and understanding that most greatly hinders the advancement of this type of finesse pitcher. I think Terry Francona is the perfect manager in this regard. In a recent interview he described what a manager needed to do to have a successful knuckleball pitcher. He emphasized having to "sit on your hands" for a good deal of the game. "He'll give up walks, allow the baserunners, and sometimes get hit, but if I'm patient, I'll look up and he'll still be in the game in the 7th inning, giving the team a chance to win." In an era of power pitchers and increased emphasis placed on velocity instead of intelligence and changing speeds, most knuckleball hurlers simply arent fortunate enought to have a manager this sensative to their needs.
The question still arises, however, as to why more young people don't feature the pitch in their arsenal of weapons on the mound. After all, imagine how effective a good knuckleball would be if the pitcher were also armed with a 90 mph fastball. He would be nearly unhittable due to the vastly different speeds and approaches.
The answer comes from an understanding of how the pitch works. First of all, the mechanics of throwing the pitch are unique. In order to deliver an effective knuckleball that kills most spin the wrist must be locked and stiff when throwing, the pitcher must develop a shorter stride towards home plate, and they must focus on throwing more with the upper body. Also unlike conventional pitches such as the fastball and slider, the knuckleball takes an enormous amount of time to become confident with on the mound. To throw a fastball you rear back and throw hard, and this is attractive to younger pitchers who are looking for instant results. Rarely do young pitchers spend the amount of time and effort that are required to throw a baseball at high speeds towards the plate while controlling the spin completely. Any more then 1.5-2 complete rotations on the way to the plate can cause a knuckleball to quickly become a souvenir in a fans glove sitting in the left field seats 450 feet away. Therefore, in order to be successful at a high level of competition, a knuckleball pitcher must train his body and muscle memory to be able to execute a 65mph pitch with under one single rotation 9 out of every 10 times (at least)! What makes the pitch even more frustrating is the fact that it is the hardest single pitch in baseball to control. The ball can be released going in the exact same direction 10 different times, and it will never once end up in the same place. It is this unpredictability that adds another increase in difficulty to learning the pitch. It was once said that it takes one day to learn a knuckleball and a lifetime to learn to throw it for strikes. What a great quote!
Having said all of this, I believe that the future of the knuckleball is still quite bright (despite what the announcers and baseball analysts say). What the game of baseball needs is young pitchers like Zink who are dedicated to the art of throwing the games most elusive pitch. Wakefield has already been a model for all others to look up to and compare against, so the groundwork is set for a resurgence of this type of pitcher in the near future. Baseball, like any other aspect of life, goes through phases, and I believe that a new era of knuckleball pitchers is just beyond the horizon. Recently the Twins were scouting a young knuckleball prospect named Sean Flaherty after observing Wakefields dominance in the dome. Along with this, the New York Yankees were reportedly looking for a knuckleball prospect to counter Tim Wakefield. The Chicago White Sox still have Charlie Haeger throwing the knuckleball for their AAA team, and of course the Redsox organization has become known as an extremely good place for knuckleballers to develop and grow. Hopefully this great pitch will continue to fool batters in the coming decades, and I'll be able to turn on my TV and see a good knuckleball pitcher at least a few times each year.
(P.S.) For any of you who are interested in learning more about this subject, there is an excellent site on the internet called "Knuckleball HQ" that you should check out. There are very knowledgable people on that board who answer questions from aspiring knuckleball pitchers and track the progress of those currently in the professional system. Check out the message boards, and tell Dave "Hi"! Heres the link: http://www.oddball-mall.com/knuckleball
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4 months ago
I like the article, but you lost me at the beginning because I thought there were more Major League knuckleballers, the one coming to mind being RA Dickey, but he is not currently in the majors.
Also, you forgot to mention that the knuckle is the favorite pitch of hitters turned "one inning because the game is out hand" pitchers like Jeff Cirillo and Jose Canseco.
from 4 months ago
I revised the article to at least mention R.A. Dickey, although I was trying to mostly focus on knuckleballers who are currently active in the major/minor leagues. I know that the Modesto Nuts also have a knuckleballer by the name of Simon Ferrer, but I guess I forgot to mention him!
4 months ago
As a pitching nut, I really do appreciate your article on the most unconventional pitch in baseball. I remember Charlie Hough throwing the knuckler in the late 70's. I remember seeing Phil Neikro throw this thing in Fulton County Stadium as a Brave. From the stands, it looked like he was simply playing catch. I also remember seeing a young Wakefield absolutely baffle Terry Pendleton, Ron Gant and the rest of my Atlanta Braves in the 1992 NLCS. Only David Justice's quick bat speed managed a homer against Wakefield.
A very inciteful article on the perils of throwing the knuckler with any type of rotation. Along with its unpredictability, these are the biggest strikes against it (no pun intended). Many coaches discourage it because if batters tend to lay off of it, they coax walks. Once they get on, any player with decent speed will steal on it- of course, you address this with having the pitcher have more than just a knuckler in his arsenal.
Based on your article and what I have heard, for most coaches and managers to feel good about a knuckle ball pitcher, they need to have a repetoire of other conventional pitches to keep batters honest, they need to be able to control it "within reason", and the team needs a catcher who can catch the pitch. This may not seem like a lot to ask for, but so many teams are not willing to give up a spot in their starting rotation to address these concerns.
Wakefield and Neikro had to be given the opportunity to show they could actually dominate major league lineups with the knuckler before they were really given starting slots.
I don't think the knuckler will go away anytime soon. It may get scarce, but sooner or later there will be some converted outfielder or infielder who will pick it up and remind us all that there is another pitch out there that can be mastered and can remake an entire baseball career.
4 months ago
I love knuckleballers... Charlie Huff was one of my favorite pitchers to watch when growing up.
Also, I think this doctor http://www.drmikemarshall.com/BaseballPitchingInstructionalVideo.html that I saw on Real Sports has some very good ideas but it seems like an impossible task for MLB teams to implement.
4 months ago
I like the article too. The knuckleballer doesn't put the stress on his arm that the 90+ mph fastballer does, thus Hough, Niekro, Wakefield can all last longer in the Bigs. And a great many times these past years as a RedSock Wakefield has pitched an inning or two the day or two after going 7-8 innings. What a great weapon for any manager to have.
The comment was made about how difficult it is to catch a knuckleball. That's a problem for many teams because few catchers can handle a knuckleballer's pitches well enough to win. Many have been the times when excessive walks, wild pitches or passed balls all add up to a deficit that the team's offense cannot overcome. The catcher that can do so is a valuable commodity as well. The other half of the duo is crucial. Remember, last year the Red Sox paid a bundle to reacquire Doug Mirabelli after thinking young Bard could do the job. To get Mirabelli back behind the plate in time for a game, the Massachusetts State Police picked him up from the airport. After flying from San Diego to Boston, Mirabelli changed into his uniform in a MSP squad car as they raced him to Fenway Park.
I agree that the knuckleballer will survive, but for reasons given by the first two commenters, it will not be the pitch mastered, nor the pitch caught by many major leaguers.
4 months ago
Excellent article; I, too, am sorry to see the near-absence of the knuckleball at the major league level. Thinking back to Phil Niekro -- as I remember, he helped offset the disadvantages of the knuckler by having a very good pick-off move, as well as being an excellent fielder who won five Gold Gloves.
Throwing a knuckleball is contrarian and unorthodox, akin to Paul Johnson's triple-option/spread offense at Navy (and soon at Georgia Tech), or a high-school football team still running the single-wing, or a basketball team relying on the "match-up zone" defense as did Temple under John Chaney for years. Unfortunately, such players and coaches are too rare a breed, and rarer still are athletic directors and general managers bold enough to allow them to do what they do best.
from 4 months ago
Thats a good observation you stated about Niekro. Along with what you said, Niekro also had good conventional pitches to mix in with his knuckleball. He actually got his 300th major league win throwing NO knuckleballers until the final hitter. Another thing I find fascinating is that Niekro got a majority of his 300 wins with the Braves... what kind of run support do you think he got there?
from 4 months ago
Hank Aaron was pretty good at getting run support...
4 months ago
Nicely done article-- I think within a couple of years Charlie Haeger will have a permanent MLB gig with the Sox and will join Wakefield as the two current knucklers. It's unfortunate that in this day of GMs being obsessed with the 100mph fastball that the knuckleball has nearly gone the way of the dodo bird. Between the time it takes to master and the fact that most catchers don't like dealing with trying to catch a knuckleball, I think it'll continue to be a rarity, at least for the near future.
from 4 months ago
I too hope that Haeger will become a permanent member of the White Sox, but in order to do so he needs to establish more control. In his breif playing time with the Sox at a big league level, he was throwing his knuckleball much harder then usual (in the mid 70's) and was very wild. He's still working out the kinks in AAA Charolette, but hopefully he'll be given another shot soon. As for catchers not liking to deal with the knuckleball, this is not always the case. I'm sure Mirabelli will tell you that he's glad for the opportunity to catch for Wakefield. For some guys, it's the only way that they can stay in the game. Kevin Cash has also spent the last few years of his career catching the knuckleball, and now he's in the bigs for it!
4 months ago
You'd think that with the success Wakefield has had and the success guys like Maddux have had that teams would realize that velocity isn't everything. Hell, Jaime Moyer is still playing. Control and the intelligence to mix pitches well can take a player further than just power.
from 4 months ago
The sad thing is that if Jamie Moyer or Greg Maddux or (to a lesser extent) Paul Byrd were 22-year old prospects coming out of college right now, teams and scouts wouldn't even take a second glance at them. Throwing the ball hard does not equal success in the big leagues - hitting your spots and changing speeds does.
4 months ago
Two interesting observations have come up since I wrote The Knucklebook that make this pitch all the more intriguing. 1., A batter decides only two things: where the ball is going and when it'll get there. A good knuckleball will destroy any guessing on either or both points. 2. There are a few conventional pitches that, if thrown with command, will confuse the batter simply because they may sort of almost look like some of the bad knuckleballs, but they have confusing elements of their own. For example, a splitter is the conventional pitch most closely related to a knuckleball: no/low spin, keep it down, sinks like crazy. A circle-change can look like a knuckleball with too much spin, but it, too, can fall off the table if you sell it with the right arm speed, and like the splitter, you can spot it. Like a splitter and/or circle change, you should throw a knuckleball by mixing speeds, throwing strikes, and keeping it down. In short, a good pitcher can incorporate a knuckleball to further add confusion, or incorporate a conventional pitch that looks something like a knuckleball that can be tracked, but is a conventional pitch that's spotted and adjusted for effective velocity. For pitchers who don't have a filthy knuckleball almost always, this can be a commanding approach to pitching at any level. And for knuckleball masters, this is just one more weapon in their bag of tricks.
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