The other part to it also is you need a catcher that can catch knuckleballs, the fact the knuckleball just dances randomly is a complete opposite approach to how a catcher normally plays (setting up a target). Basically if you’re catching a knuckleball you’re pretty much getting “crossed up”. Wakefield had his own catcher who always caught him.
We had a knuckleball pitcher in high school. It wasn't his main pitch, but going from an 80+mph fastball to that 45mph knuckleball got him a lot of strikeouts.
My buddy who pitched for our high school team simply because we didn't have any pitchers did the same thing. He called it his knuckle ball but it was more like an eephus. regardless, even though he could only throw 75 mph tops, when he had a guy with two strikes, he'd throw the meatball and strike them out. Somehow made all state the one year he pitched as well
@@supafrancis dang pitching sounds incredibly interesting. I've heard "knuckleball" for decades and never knew what it meant til now. And I don't really know the other pitches either. would be cool to learn.
@@chillbro2275 To the average person, Pitching is totally misunderstood and under appreciated. Being a pitcher may be the most pressure filled and hardest position to play in all of sports. I have explained being a pitcher to Europeans who are football crazy (soccer) that pitching is like taking a penalty kick every time a pitch is thrown.. but there is so much more to pitching than throwing a ball inside a box. Switching the speeds of pitches throws off batters as well as putting more or less spin in different types of rotation will make the ball curve or "break" in different directions. A skilled pitcher must have a multitude of different pitches that they can throw to keep a batter confused because often if they throw the same pitch twice, a batter will crush that ball. If you want to look up a pitcher that will blow your mind, look up Nolan Ryan. In my book, the greatest pitcher to ever take the pitchers mound
@@supafrancis Lol, that was the same thing I did. When I had 2 strikes on someone and 1 ball, or maybe a 2-2 count. I would always throw my knuckle ball. I pitched and played Short stop all little league. When I started getting older I was burned out of pitching and loved playing in the OF. So in H.S I told my coach I hated pitching and I usually played left field, or center field, but there was times he had me pitch cause he was out of pitchers. I just got burned out so bad from little league.
George Brett, one of the best hitters in history said; With the knuckler you have to guess where its going, assume your wrong and swing somewhere else to have any chance.
Tony Gwynn often took the night off if Phil Niekro started...noted he didn't want to mess up his swing...as a .338 lifetime hitter that makes sense...a .239 hitter would have equal chance against a good knuckleball, maybe better, as the hitter wouldn't know how impossible it is to hit the damn ball...
I remember playing little league with a guy who somehow managed to teach himself to throw a decent knuckleball at the age of about 12. When he first started throwing it, he struck out three batters with, if I recall correctly, nine pitches, and then there was a huge delay to the game as the opposing coach started demanding proof that the kid was really the age he said he was XD He was truly amazing in other sports as well.
Knuckleball is easy to do at any age, the thing is the speed, once you want speed, it becomes difficult to handle and impossible to get it and you just get meatballs
This also happened to my brother. But he was in highschool. How knuckle ball was crazy because he would throw a 98 mile hour fast ball then a knuckle. It was funny watching him pitch
@@cdgbdrhvnhthat’s not His name. He was a Hebrew Israelite from the tribe of YAHUdah. His parents were not greek! This poor English transliteration was given to us by lying Jesuit priests that didn’t want us to use His true Name! Shalom
-Throwing a knuckleball is difficult -Throwing a really good knuckleball is extremely difficult -Consistently throwing a really good knuckleball is insanely difficult
I’ve caught exactly 2 perfectly-thrown knuckleballs in my life, the second was better than the first, and danced UP as it was about to reach my glove….inches away from hitting me right in the mouth…..EVERYbody tried to throw one, few ever succeeded….hat’s off to those who did it well enough to succeed in the MLB!🎉
Most knuckleball pitchers were once “conventional” pitchers, who turned to the knuckleball to revive their career. This transition takes many years, and most mlb teams aren’t patient enough to do it anymore.
thanks for repeating the pathetic excuse form the video. Why is it the coaches job to force players to practice. Sounds like baseball just encourages pussies to keep being pussies
The only knuckleball pitcher that comes to mind that didn't live and die with the knuckler is Joe Niekro. Joe Niekro had a pretty good fastball and curveball. He threw the knuckleball as a devastating offspeed pitch.
Tim Wakefield pitched the first Sox game I went to as a kid in the 90s and remained my favorite pitcher until his retirement because of how cool the knuckleball is.
Tim Wakefield was a truly great teammate; even coming out of the bullpen and giving up a Championship Series start to give other pitchers some extra rest. RIP.
Phil nekro one of the OG knuckleballers! Ra dickey was an anomaly too, he was born without a UCL ligament, and the fact he came back to pitching after being told over and over again he wouldn't have a career in baseball was just amazing
Phil Niekro had a great knuckleball. Who has the best knuckleball in MLB history? Unquestionably, Phil Niekro is the king of the knuckleballers. His 318 career wins put him at 16th on the all-time list, and his 121 wins after turning 40 are an MLB record. He also won five Gold Gloves and played for five All-Star teams in his 24 seasons, throwing a no-hitter in 1973 for good measure.
I believe when Tim would pitch the first of a three game series he could screw the opposing line up’s timing up so bad that even if he lost his start, the Sox would win the next two.
@@1Speed14 Reason it works for him is that he made sure he has solid pitches outside of the knuckleball. If the knuckleball is all you have, hitters just wait on it and give it a ride. He sprinkles it in so well that it catches people off guard.
@@metalfingers2129Too bad he's such a bang average pitcher in the MLB. Well, maybe he'd be even worse without the knuckleball. I guess he has to stay in the league somehow
I remember when I was younger (10) and would watch R.A. Dickey and I thought he was bad because he just pitched slow but I began to realize the beauty of the knuckleball and how he mastered it. Now he remains one of the last people to use it and a well remembered Toronto pitcher.
I thought the same thing of Wakefield. I remember thinking he was terrible, why is this guy throwing 68 mph? Then I watched him retire batter after batter and realized it was all technique. Now I regard Wakefield as one of the greatest, not that he was stats wise, but because he basically mastered a cheat code in a professional sport, you have to love that.
His brother Joe Niekro was a pretty good knuckler in his own right. Unlike Phil Niekro, Joe could throw a pretty good fastball and curveball and used the knuckler has a devastating offspeed pitch.
A good friend of mine was a catcher for the Pawtucket Red Sox back in the day. According to him he said the humidity plays a big role. Cooler months in the spring and fall make it tougher for a knuckleballer. But in the summer, it is virtually unhittable.
Ron Luciano, the late AL umpire back in the 1970s, wrote a series of books that are quite funny, filled with all kinds of stories from his days as an umpire as well as stories of the players back then. He told one story (I hope I get the details right) about how, when Hough was pitching for Los Angeles, he faced Pirates slugger Willie Stargell in a tight spot. It was the top of the 9th, Pittsburgh had a couple of runners on with 2 outs, and Stargell at the plate (who was a beast with the bat). After he got Stargell to a 3-2 count, he got the signal from his catcher to throw a fastball instead of a knuckleball. Hough immediately thought it was a great idea; in his words, "Stargell is expecting another knuckleball so we'll fool him with smoke!" As he was about to release the pitch, he suddenly remembered why he learned to throw the knuckleball- because he DIDN'T HAVE A FASTBALL! So now here he is, throwing a "fastball" to one of the top home run hitters in the NL in the top of the 9th inning! Oh, crap... Except that Stargell swung... and missed for strike three! Talk about getting away with a bad decision! If you like baseball stories, I strongly recommend those books if you can find them. "The Umpire Strikes Back," "Strike Two," and "The Fall of the Roman Umpire."
I very nearly hurt my elbow badly trying to throw sliders in Little League. So one day, while trying something different to stop the stress on me elbow, I accidentally threw a knuckleball that had the entire infield wondering wtf was that. I started practicing it and threw it all the way thru high school, ironically with the same catcher all those years. He got really good at framing my pitches haha Never made it to college with it though because nobody wanted to take a chance on a knuckler in 2009; they only wanted flamethrowers. And since my fastball topped out in the 70s, that was the end of my pitching career. Tim Wakefield was THE MAN for me back in those days
Which is a shame. Because a knuckleball pitcher should be coveted for any team, college or minors. This no patience approach to pitching is what hurts every level of baseball. I hope if you are coaching, you teach pitchers and catchers how to do a proper knuckleball. It would be so much better for the game as more pitchers would have a chance for a better career when they don't have the fastball to make it.
The more you learn about baseball the less boring it gets. It’s a very detailed game. But yes, I imagine it is very boring to a casual viewer. One of my best friends, who I played in a jazz band with, says baseball is the most boring thing he’s ever watched. We’ve had some great conversations bc I’m able to use jazz music as an analogy that he can relate to. I told him baseball is like our jazz gigs - to someone who doesn’t know music theory it is very boring and 3 chord pop songs are more relatable and accessible, therefore more enjoyable, but to someone who is knowledgeable in music theory, jazz is very interesting.
A knuckleball is indeed hard to hit, but only if it’s thrown well. If not…you’re in for a loooooong day. As a Sox fan I got to see Tim Wakefield pitch for many years. When he couldn’t get the knuckleball dancin, it was normally a rough outing. RIP Tim & Stacy Wakefield
As a former knuckleball player who played 9 season in Australia....the knuckler was not a pitch. It was a genuine mystery. It was glorious and satisfying.....
@ursafan40 they have a very small pro league and they were in fact in the wbc.... They play cricket which is why baseball will never be big there. I was there from 98 to 2020 and there were plenty of local clubs that had great talent Check out the ABL the Australian Baseball League :)
@@Bilski86 I will. Thanks. I never really tried to understand cricket. The world's fascination with it dwarves baseball. Like soccer and American football.
@ursafan40 I lived in Australia for 20 years and I enjoyed cricket it can be boring as hell and nowhere near as good as baseball imo I liked soccer more in Australia Don't get why Messi wants to come to USA lol
@@inconnu4961 Heh, it's not as popular as the 3 other main US sports I'd guess, but possibly growing a bit lately. We need a proper field here, bit of a farce playing at The Hammers ground IMO. Watched a lot of MLBTV between 2002 to 2018 or so, work doesn't allow it now, (plus I'm too old to stay up!). That makes me an incredibly lucky Sox fan really, I had to wait two years and have seen four series wins! My favourite hobby is coming across followers of the Evil Empire and feigning ignorance about the game. Eventually I get round to asking if anyone has ever come back from being 3-0 down in the play-offs. They nod with a pained thousand yard stare, as if everything they'd been told about the world was a lie, and everything they thought was certain lies in tatters. I then helpfully say "Oh yeah, was that when Millar drew a walk then pinch runner Dave Roberts.....?" Heh, it's the little things.
As a Toronto boy, I remember RA and his knuckleball well. His whole life is an insane story from his early days to how he even started throwing the knuckleball in the first place
A knuckleballer would be an interesting middle reliever for a team to have in their back pocket. It's such a rare pitch with limited control that its kind of mindblowung how starters managed to crack the lineup and even produce decent ERAs throughout history...
@digitalfootballer9032 Exactly. The only tricky part would be finding a catcher that can hold the fort behind the plate, but who can also hang well in the batting order. Other than that, the salary wouldn't be excessive, and you can use them as a mop up guy at first in blowouts to gain experience. If they sink, it's not a huge loss-- but if they swim, it's a great asset... and if they rise to the level of a starter, it's even better. There's a knuckleball renaissance spearheaded by Charlie Hough and Chris Nowlin, so all of these ideas might become reality in the next decade. 🤞
My Uncle Rick taught me to throw a knuckle ball. He was good enough to try out for the Oakland Athletics, however, as a young man, he stayed home in Kansas to take care of his mother and family. He ended up being an incredible Chef and he fed us at every family reunion until he passed away a few years ago. RIP Uncle Rick!!!
Tim Wakefield was a catcher and was about to be released by the Pirates. Before he could be released he told the club hey i can pitch too. The rest is history.
As a kid I played baseball with a kid, Jace Brewer, who went on to play for the KC Royals. But our first baseman, TJ Vanderburg had one of the best knuckle balls any kid had ever seen! He didn’t have speed, but that dancing knuckle ball was brutal to those youngsters! We had one of the best teams a kid could ask for! We were all such great friends back then! RIP Stringer #13
Not only is it hard to pitch, but its also hard to find a catcher that is willing to battery with a knucleballer. Josh Thole was sub par batter but an amazing Knuckleball Catcher!
I learned the knuckle ball from a coach who used to throw it. Then I moved to catcher and threw a knuckle when my pitcher wouldn’t listen to my signals. Got a few of them in the chest 😂😂 I’m good friends with a lot of my pitchers so we just laughed it off
@@inFAIMous2.0 when practicing we practice our knuckleballs instead of warming up properly haha I would catch them off to the side to avoid getting hit in center mass. I took a few off the wrist which is also no fun
Does anyone remember ‘Ken Griffey Jr Baseball Game’ on N64? Tim Wakefield had a knuckleball AND a SUPER knuckleball in his pitch selections. You could also use the joystick while pitch was in the air to manually cause movement. THAT pitch was literally unhittable
I would have tried to learn it but when big leaguers throw it off speed at 55-70 mph ?? That's as hard as I can throw a ball . I probably can't throw 75 much less keep it still . It's an amazing talent and lots of fun to watch.
Wakefields occasionally used "fastball" was about 75mph which is a very mortal speed for a fastball. I think a lot of knuckleballers mastered it being they knew they'd never throw a fast enough fastball to be successful
Problem with the screwball is its harder to throw than a curve ball Instead of height it spins in n out at that elevation When thrown really well it really SCREWS lefties (another reason you don't see it because lefties are 15 to 20 percent of MLB hitters) Curveball give more options and can act like a discount knuckle ball They are also easier to catch n less risky to hit a batter because everyone throws a Curveball NOWADAYS hitting a batter can be automatic ejection If I could pitch I would definitely throw a screwball (I would be a leftie so it would actually make sense to have that pitch) You can get elevation if you take a little off it or have absurd spin rate but curves often more elevation change If you focus on the word screw in screwball you can see what can go wrong for the pitcher Screwballs are really good if you have great inside command and need something filthy But again don't screw one up or it's DAY OVER because you gave up a meatball or hit a batter
Piece of Trivia: Carl Hubble was credited with being the pitcher who invented the screwball. After he retired, he walked around with the palm of his had facing out on his left arm, the effect of throwing so many screwballs in his career. Of players I have seen play, Tug McGraw and Mike Cuellar had the best screwballs. What they did with that pitch was simply unfair.
Walker Buehler started throwing it this last season. He added it to help make up for his drop in velocity after his 2nd TJ surgery. So the pitch is not dead.
The knuckleball is also difficult to throw for strikes consistently, and it is very difficult for catchers. Many walks, stolen bases, and pass balls will happen when you have pitchers learning the knuckleball.
@@jonlanier_ Yeh, it doesn't make much sense to me that people used to have time to learn it, but not now. They're all on mandatory fire safety or inclusivity courses maybe?
That's a pretty good idea. If more pitchers practiced it early on, they might have it down if they hit the big leagues. But it can't be their only pitch.
@@MarvinBBallJones You know, I thought about that after I commented, but I could have sworn that Tim, Phil and Joe, Charlie Hough etc..had at least a slow curveball or somewhat of a fastball. I could be wrong on that though 🤔..
@@billmcmahon5454 Oh yeah, they basically all threw something of a fastball or mixed in other pitches, but the knucklers generally threw it most of the time
@@MarvinBBallJones Ah, ok. I kind of thought so. Watching Tim in the modern era, batters would expect the KB, but he would mix it with a (slow) fastball. Kind of wish the KB was still around. It definitely made for challenging batting.
I threw the Knuckle ball and Knuckle curve. I actually learned it from a book from the 50s or 60s. My cousin threw 102 for the Cardinals so..😅😅😅. I literally learned every pitch and would change up the speed and location. I threw 3/4s so it was easier to learn. It's very hard on your elbow. Arm placement is very important. You can't change slots on the Knuckle. You also don't need to use 2 knuckles, it's about having as little spin as possible.
@@ashbyt1 318 careers wins still isn’t bad, but I could only imagine how he would’ve done with the Astros when his brother was playing there when they won the WS.
I’m not a baseball fan but I’ve always admired the player who can throw knuckleballs like it’s nothing. Genuinely one of the satisfying things to watch in sports
Phil Niekro is the only knuckle ball pitcher who's a member of baseball's historic 300 wins and 3,000 strikeout clubs. His brother Joe Niekro was also a great knuckle ball pitcher.
My grandpa teach me this throw when i was 10-11 years old while playing tennis and he will make me throw knuckleball to him and and hit it with his racket i dont know what's going on in his head but i love him 😅
I play volleyball and we have a similar serve. It's called a float serve, and is done by hitting the ball with no spin, which makes it move around in flight.
I watched until the end. When I was in my high-school baseball team, there was a guy on an opposing team that had the strangest pitch. It wasn’t terribly fast, but I could never hit it.. nor most of my teammates! I asked our coach one day what kind of pitch that was … “ that’s a knuckle ball son, now learn to hit it!!” 🤣 I’ll never forget that day.
@@MarvinBBallJonesit's not nearly as dramatic, most guys that two finger grip a knuckle polish those nails into super long sharp coke nails basically, so they can dig in to the ball
I pitched all through little league and high school ball in the mid 90s . In high school I learned to throw a good split finger change up that acted a lot like a knuckle ball . It would dance and fall out the bottom as it reached the batter . By that time I’d already tore up my arm and was only good for 3-4 innings by the end . If the Tommy John surgery was as popular back then as today I might have had a decent chance of pitching in college . Fast ball and was 90-92 at 17 yrs old . But baseball was a way of life for me and so many other kids back then. Literally 90 % of all the boys played little league baseball . Such great times , learned to win and lose. Hard work pays off and you got what you earned . Life lessons learned playing a game !!!
"All pitches in baseball have some amount of spin on them" "A well thrown knuckleball has no spin at all" Edit: I literally just listed two contradictory statement that were made in the video. I know nothing about baseball. Please stop making "Um actually" statements I'm not trying to prove anything.
lol or the "there's no one around to teach it anymore" statement. Ummm... All the guys he named in the video are retired, not dead. Not just that, but it isn't a pitcher's job to coach other pitchers. That responsibility lies with, wait for it, the pitching coaches.
The head baseball coach was also our secondary coach for the football team. He could throw a football knuckle ball style. He could make that football do all kinda crazy moves and make the punt return guys try to catch it to keep them sharp. Fun to watch because he would make them look silly.
Jim Bouton's book "Ball Four" is all I can think about whenever someone talks about the knuckleball. It is an art form that is probably going the way of the 🦤. Such a wild pitch. The skill it takes to get a ball to dance is amazing. Favorite pitch.
I think another factor is that it eliminates the deception of secondary pitches. The release is so unique that if you had other pitches a hitter will be able to immediately tell that you’re throwing them.
I'm a lifelong Mets fan and man, I used to love watching RA dickey pitch. When he was on the top of his game, he was untouchable. One of the most entertaining pitchers imo.
I started playing baseball when I was old enough to swing a plastic bat and I was throwing a ball before I could walk. I pitched in my early teens and my dad taught me how to throw a knuckleball in elementary school. It was hard and my 50ish mph knuckleball wasn't consistent enough to throw in a game but it was my favorite pitch to throw during practice.
It’s also the same with the Jabulani, the ball used in the 2010 World Cup. The jabulani is perfectly circular, making so the air around it moves it in certain directions
The weather can affect the "dance" of the knuckeball too, as well as altitude. They might be slight variables to account for, but when those conditions are right, they can effectively negate the pitch, rendering it a slow change up.
Philip Niekro, played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball. Niekro is generally regarded as the greatest knuckleball pitcher of all time. (Wikipedia)The average careers for pitchers is 4.8 years. Knuckleball pitchers tend to have longer careers because of less strain on their arms....
Phil Niekro pitched for 24 years in MLB. He is generally regarded as the greatest knuckleball pitcher of all time. Bob Uecker, one of his catchers, said the best way to catch a knuckleball was to wait til it stopped then go get it. BTW: As hard as a knuckleball is to throw and catch, it can be equally hard of the fans. The suspense of strike, ball, wild pitch, passed ball, and "Wow, did that make the second deck?" added adventure to every pitch. BTW2: Phil Niekro was an excellent fielder, possibly because of all the hit knuckleballs that didn't make it past the pitcher's mound.
The way I throw it is completely different and a lot easier if you have big hands, you throw it as if it is a forkball but you move your fingers about 1/4-1/2 of an inch up on the ball which will prevent top spin and cause it to do the exact same thing as a knuckleball, the only downside is that it is a lot faster than a knuckleball but if you can throw this pitch 90 I guarantee nobody can hit it.
My coaches in highschool told us they won’t teach it, but if we could throw it consistently in the zone, they would allow it. Me and 2 others out of our 5 pitchers got pretty good at them and ended up using them in a couple games. What we found out is that it’s not a matter of just throwing a good pitch, sometimes they’d throw off the catcher, so we would only use them with 2 of our catchers
The only pitch I could ever throw was a screwball. Sometimes things just come naturally to you because you have bad form or you suck at other things. I was left-handed and had an awkward delivery. I put three fingers on the ball and through kind of sidearmed and stayed on top of the ball. This resulted in a pitch that broke away from right-handed hitters and moved kind of downward. Nothing special compared to Major League pitches but playing in the schoolyard it was something that most people weren't used to seeing. I called it the Masturbator. 55 mph of stupidity.
I was obsessed with learning the knuckle ball in high school.. to this day I can still throw it pretty accurately.. it took about 3 years to really get it down good. And I still love it.. when your in practice throwing around and you sling a knuckleball at a teammate and they go wtf is that lol I loved that feeling.. and showing them how to throw it of course because knowledge is useless if it isn’t preserved and passed on
As a lifelong Massachusetts resident a lifelong Red Sox fan. Tim Wakefield was so so so much fun to watch!!! He’d throw these potatoes where you could actually read the name on the ball as it was going down the plate and make guys look like fools! Swinging at nothing! 😂😂😂😂! I loved me some wake!!
I remember throwing a knuckleball my junior year at this one batter and he started dancing around cause the thing began to dance. The hard thing about it is it is so hard to get any speed behind it. I use my middle and ring fingers to throw it, the art behind it is that your arm goes down (cause back spin ) but the flicking motion gives it front spin. You want them to be "equal" which is a zero spin!
The other part to it also is you need a catcher that can catch knuckleballs, the fact the knuckleball just dances randomly is a complete opposite approach to how a catcher normally plays (setting up a target). Basically if you’re catching a knuckleball you’re pretty much getting “crossed up”. Wakefield had his own catcher who always caught him.
Exactly! You need a catcher who has insane reaction time in order to counter the sheer unpredictability of the pitch. Well said!
“The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up.”
- Bob Uecker
The catchers in the 70's had a larger mitt for knuckle ballers. Akin to a 1st baseman's mitt
Red Sox legend Doug Mirabelli!!!
Josh Thole was Dickey’s catcher if I remember correctly, at least during his time with the Blue Jays
RA started throwing it because he blew out his arm and the knuckleball was the only thing he could throw!
Yup! That’s the beauty of the pitch, it can be thrown into your 40’s with little to no stress on the arm
What was impressive to me was Dickey was throwing his knuckler 80-85 mph. Wakefield’s was around 67-70 mph.
Right that was the quirk to Dickey, he threw a “fast” knuckleball
That’s exactly why pitchers who have thrown their arm out go to throwing knuckle balls
@@DunavitzkiYea that’s crazy to be able to throw a knuckle ball that hard
TH-cam decided to teach me Baseball today for no reason whatsoever.
Same, but I have been watching sci-show stuff so it was probably the physics connection
so did u learn or skipped?
There is a reason, we will be reaching out soon
Thoroughly enjoyed it though
Lol me too wth
We had a knuckleball pitcher in high school. It wasn't his main pitch, but going from an 80+mph fastball to that 45mph knuckleball got him a lot of strikeouts.
My buddy who pitched for our high school team simply because we didn't have any pitchers did the same thing. He called it his knuckle ball but it was more like an eephus. regardless, even though he could only throw 75 mph tops, when he had a guy with two strikes, he'd throw the meatball and strike them out. Somehow made all state the one year he pitched as well
@@supafrancis dang pitching sounds incredibly interesting. I've heard "knuckleball" for decades and never knew what it meant til now. And I don't really know the other pitches either. would be cool to learn.
@@chillbro2275 To the average person, Pitching is totally misunderstood and under appreciated. Being a pitcher may be the most pressure filled and hardest position to play in all of sports. I have explained being a pitcher to Europeans who are football crazy (soccer) that pitching is like taking a penalty kick every time a pitch is thrown.. but there is so much more to pitching than throwing a ball inside a box. Switching the speeds of pitches throws off batters as well as putting more or less spin in different types of rotation will make the ball curve or "break" in different directions. A skilled pitcher must have a multitude of different pitches that they can throw to keep a batter confused because often if they throw the same pitch twice, a batter will crush that ball. If you want to look up a pitcher that will blow your mind, look up Nolan Ryan. In my book, the greatest pitcher to ever take the pitchers mound
@@supafrancis Lol, that was the same thing I did. When I had 2 strikes on someone and 1 ball, or maybe a 2-2 count. I would always throw my knuckle ball. I pitched and played Short stop all little league. When I started getting older I was burned out of pitching and loved playing in the OF. So in H.S I told my coach I hated pitching and I usually played left field, or center field, but there was times he had me pitch cause he was out of pitchers. I just got burned out so bad from little league.
Hell offspeed pitches are a good way to throw off batters
George Brett, one of the best hitters in history said; With the knuckler you have to guess where its going, assume your wrong and swing somewhere else to have any chance.
That's a great quote! I've heard that to have any chance at hitting it, "If it's high, let it fly. If it's low, let it go."
Tony Gwynn often took the night off if Phil Niekro started...noted he didn't want to mess up his swing...as a .338 lifetime hitter that makes sense...a .239 hitter would have equal chance against a good knuckleball, maybe better, as the hitter wouldn't know how impossible it is to hit the damn ball...
PSALMS 34:10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
I can throw a knuckleball about 30% of the time I try to 😅. The other 70% is what we call batting practice.
😂😂😂
I’m like 95% successful anymore, but I’ve been working on it all year
@@Mid70spitchersure bozo
@@Mitch-Mreally isn’t that hard to throw
I can throw it well enough that it will dance a bit like 80% of the time. However my issue is that it’s never near the plate lol
I remember playing little league with a guy who somehow managed to teach himself to throw a decent knuckleball at the age of about 12. When he first started throwing it, he struck out three batters with, if I recall correctly, nine pitches, and then there was a huge delay to the game as the opposing coach started demanding proof that the kid was really the age he said he was XD
He was truly amazing in other sports as well.
Some people are just built different, and the best thing is when they find their way into the business where their build is the perfect fit.
Knuckleball is easy to do at any age, the thing is the speed, once you want speed, it becomes difficult to handle and impossible to get it and you just get meatballs
So at the age 12 you don't really aim at high speeds so is easy
This also happened to my brother. But he was in highschool. How knuckle ball was crazy because he would throw a 98 mile hour fast ball then a knuckle. It was funny watching him pitch
@@cdgbdrhvnhthat’s not His name. He was a Hebrew Israelite from the tribe of YAHUdah. His parents were not greek!
This poor English transliteration was given to us by lying Jesuit priests that didn’t want us to use His true Name! Shalom
-Throwing a knuckleball is difficult
-Throwing a really good knuckleball is extremely difficult
-Consistently throwing a really good knuckleball is insanely difficult
Nice Story Bruh
Tim Wakefield was the greatest one of all time
This. All of this.
The speed needs to be adjusted to the conditions.
In the heavy marine atmosphere of the fens vs the dry air in Arizona.
Not to forget Colorado.
It’s pushed really no thrown !
Padres Matt Waldron throws one. 7 shutout innings last night . 55% knuckleballs.
The Waldron Cauldron🔥
I need to watch the highlights. Thanks for pointing this out 🙌🏾
Came here to say this
What?!? Let’s go hahahahaha I need to check highlights
Back today cause he just threw some great ones against the Phillies 😢
I’ve caught exactly 2 perfectly-thrown knuckleballs in my life, the second was better than the first, and danced UP as it was about to reach my glove….inches away from hitting me right in the mouth…..EVERYbody tried to throw one, few ever succeeded….hat’s off to those who did it well enough to succeed in the MLB!🎉
“You don’t want a knuckleballer pitching for you or against you.”
- I forget
-Abraham Lincoln
George Washingbeard
Thoughts and prayers man here. Sending thoughts and prayers
Michael Scott
- Julius Caesar
Most knuckleball pitchers were once “conventional” pitchers, who turned to the knuckleball to revive their career. This transition takes many years, and most mlb teams aren’t patient enough to do it anymore.
thanks for repeating the pathetic excuse form the video. Why is it the coaches job to force players to practice. Sounds like baseball just encourages pussies to keep being pussies
Or position players. Tim Wakefield. But, yeah. You only go to the knuckleball as an extreme to save your career.
The only knuckleball pitcher that comes to mind that didn't live and die with the knuckler is Joe Niekro. Joe Niekro had a pretty good fastball and curveball. He threw the knuckleball as a devastating offspeed pitch.
@@davester1970 Phil
@@danethomas3453no it was joe
Tim Wakefield pitched the first Sox game I went to as a kid in the 90s and remained my favorite pitcher until his retirement because of how cool the knuckleball is.
Word. Wakefield one of my best
Pittsburgh
Tim Wakefield was a truly great teammate; even coming out of the bullpen and giving up a Championship Series start to give other pitchers some extra rest. RIP.
Matt Waldron keeping the art alive !
Go padres!
I was about to say, I remember seeing someone throwing a knuckleball this season but I couldn't remember who it was.
Too bad that he's such an average pitcher
Phil nekro one of the OG knuckleballers! Ra dickey was an anomaly too, he was born without a UCL ligament, and the fact he came back to pitching after being told over and over again he wouldn't have a career in baseball was just amazing
Phil Niekro had a great knuckleball.
Who has the best knuckleball in MLB history?
Unquestionably, Phil Niekro is the king of the knuckleballers. His 318 career wins put him at 16th on the all-time list, and his 121 wins after turning 40 are an MLB record. He also won five Gold Gloves and played for five All-Star teams in his 24 seasons, throwing a no-hitter in 1973 for good measure.
He was also used as a pinch hitter on many occasions.
@@fighterman52A pitcher who can hit, there's something very rarely seen anymore. I remember Doc Gooden had a few good rips back in his day.
Imagine Shohei Ohtani with a knuckleball in his arsenal game over
thanks chat-gpt
“The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up.” -Bob Uecker
The Screwball is another rare pitch.
Didn't Fernando throw the screwball?
@@killerseddie8295I believe so. It's a great pitch to watch
@@MisterMcVoodoo Do you remember the hoofus-goofus? That one really slips by. Blyleven?
The screwball "screws" up your arm very taxing to throw regularly.
@@commandertony9856 rumor has it your arm will develop a twist, as in resting naturally at your side your palm will face backwards instead of inwards.
I loved Tim Wakefield. He was either unhitable or a huge liability. He was amazing to watch.
RIP
RIP Tim Wakefield
RIP Tim
RIP Wake
I believe when Tim would pitch the first of a three game series he could screw the opposing line up’s timing up so bad that even if he lost his start, the Sox would win the next two.
Waldron is throwing the knuckleball today
No wonder he having a great start. I’ll keep that in mind betting the bum ass Pads
He's got Gas too
@@1Speed14 Reason it works for him is that he made sure he has solid pitches outside of the knuckleball. If the knuckleball is all you have, hitters just wait on it and give it a ride. He sprinkles it in so well that it catches people off guard.
@@metalfingers2129Too bad he's such a bang average pitcher in the MLB. Well, maybe he'd be even worse without the knuckleball. I guess he has to stay in the league somehow
I remember when I was younger (10) and would watch R.A. Dickey and I thought he was bad because he just pitched slow but I began to realize the beauty of the knuckleball and how he mastered it. Now he remains one of the last people to use it and a well remembered Toronto pitcher.
I remember those days. I watched T. Wakefield in Boston, he usually had full control of his knuckleball.
I thought the same thing of Wakefield. I remember thinking he was terrible, why is this guy throwing 68 mph? Then I watched him retire batter after batter and realized it was all technique. Now I regard Wakefield as one of the greatest, not that he was stats wise, but because he basically mastered a cheat code in a professional sport, you have to love that.
I heard a true knuckleball you can watch the logo on the ball from when it leaves the pitchers hand till it crosses the plate, truly incredible
I’ve had many guys say that. I’ve gotten mine to about 70% effectiveness. Sunday league pitcher
I agree, it’s one of the prettiest pitches, if you can call it pretty 🤩
They shoot for about a quarter turn from the mound to the catchers mitt. So yes, you would be able to see the logo the entire time
Well is not like the logo is going to Peel off the baseball duh!!!
Say something smart fool!!! Siiiiiiuuuu 😎
@@jrviade85cringe
When I was a kid in the '70's & '80's, Phil Neikro of The Atlanta Braves stood out, because he was a knuckle ball pitcher.
Yup. First one I thought of.
His brother Joe Niekro was a pretty good knuckler in his own right. Unlike Phil Niekro, Joe could throw a pretty good fastball and curveball and used the knuckler has a devastating offspeed pitch.
Gaylord Perry was another back in the day. That and his nail file. Lol
A good friend of mine was a catcher for the Pawtucket Red Sox back in the day. According to him he said the humidity plays a big role. Cooler months in the spring and fall make it tougher for a knuckleballer. But in the summer, it is virtually unhittable.
Not great for the playoffs then since their is the whole "Fall" thing.
Dry air is more dense than humid air
Same with soccer its a nightmare for goalkeepers was a dying art form but some special players are bringing it back and its a thing of beauty
Charlie Hough had the best knuckle ball ever. Was flawless
I loved to watch CH when he was on the WS
Hoyt Wilhelm wasn't chopped liver. I remember him from the 1960's.
Ron Luciano, the late AL umpire back in the 1970s, wrote a series of books that are quite funny, filled with all kinds of stories from his days as an umpire as well as stories of the players back then.
He told one story (I hope I get the details right) about how, when Hough was pitching for Los Angeles, he faced Pirates slugger Willie Stargell in a tight spot. It was the top of the 9th, Pittsburgh had a couple of runners on with 2 outs, and Stargell at the plate (who was a beast with the bat). After he got Stargell to a 3-2 count, he got the signal from his catcher to throw a fastball instead of a knuckleball. Hough immediately thought it was a great idea; in his words, "Stargell is expecting another knuckleball so we'll fool him with smoke!"
As he was about to release the pitch, he suddenly remembered why he learned to throw the knuckleball- because he DIDN'T HAVE A FASTBALL! So now here he is, throwing a "fastball" to one of the top home run hitters in the NL in the top of the 9th inning! Oh, crap...
Except that Stargell swung... and missed for strike three!
Talk about getting away with a bad decision!
If you like baseball stories, I strongly recommend those books if you can find them. "The Umpire Strikes Back," "Strike Two," and "The Fall of the Roman Umpire."
@@PapaEli-pz8ffHoyt taught Hough how to throw it. He learned from the best.
What a magical season R.A. had that year. A joy to watch!
Coming from a guy who was an average 3 slot starter before.
For those interested, RA Dickey’s book Wherever I Wind Up, explains the intricacies of the knuckleball. It’s also just a great read on its own.
I very nearly hurt my elbow badly trying to throw sliders in Little League. So one day, while trying something different to stop the stress on me elbow, I accidentally threw a knuckleball that had the entire infield wondering wtf was that.
I started practicing it and threw it all the way thru high school, ironically with the same catcher all those years.
He got really good at framing my pitches haha
Never made it to college with it though because nobody wanted to take a chance on a knuckler in 2009; they only wanted flamethrowers.
And since my fastball topped out in the 70s, that was the end of my pitching career.
Tim Wakefield was THE MAN for me back in those days
Which is a shame. Because a knuckleball pitcher should be coveted for any team, college or minors. This no patience approach to pitching is what hurts every level of baseball.
I hope if you are coaching, you teach pitchers and catchers how to do a proper knuckleball. It would be so much better for the game as more pitchers would have a chance for a better career when they don't have the fastball to make it.
you just made baseball not boring as hell for a few mins. Kudos.
The more you learn about baseball the less boring it gets. It’s a very detailed game. But yes, I imagine it is very boring to a casual viewer. One of my best friends, who I played in a jazz band with, says baseball is the most boring thing he’s ever watched. We’ve had some great conversations bc I’m able to use jazz music as an analogy that he can relate to. I told him baseball is like our jazz gigs - to someone who doesn’t know music theory it is very boring and 3 chord pop songs are more relatable and accessible, therefore more enjoyable, but to someone who is knowledgeable in music theory, jazz is very interesting.
@@redfishbluefish4973true for every detailed flipping thing di...
@@ambiguous8661 di
This throw doesn't make baseball not boring
@@redfishbluefish4973details like knuckleball are interesting, but actually watching baseball is not. it's an extremely slow sport.
Best pitch of all time. I hope someone is able to bring it back to the Majors, it shouldnt be lost to time
“Becomes an absolute meatball” got me dying
That's what Todd Frazier would say when the pitcher lobbed one over the plate, "Pitcher's throwing spaghetti and meatballs out there!!" 😂😂
Good. I hope you mean literally
That's a spicy meat-a-ball!
Back catcher: "I'm just gonna pretend like I knew where it was going."
A knuckleball is indeed hard to hit, but only if it’s thrown well. If not…you’re in for a loooooong day. As a Sox fan I got to see Tim Wakefield pitch for many years. When he couldn’t get the knuckleball dancin, it was normally a rough outing.
RIP Tim & Stacy Wakefield
As a former knuckleball player who played 9 season in Australia....the knuckler was not a pitch. It was a genuine mystery. It was glorious and satisfying.....
I had no idea the Strines played baseball. Didn't see it there in 1985.
@ursafan40 they have a very small pro league and they were in fact in the wbc....
They play cricket which is why baseball will never be big there.
I was there from 98 to 2020 and there were plenty of local clubs that had great talent
Check out the ABL the Australian Baseball League :)
@@Bilski86 I will. Thanks.
I never really tried to understand cricket. The world's fascination with it dwarves baseball.
Like soccer and American football.
@ursafan40 I lived in Australia for 20 years and I enjoyed cricket it can be boring as hell and nowhere near as good as baseball imo
I liked soccer more in Australia
Don't get why Messi wants to come to USA lol
@@Bilski86 Gotta be the money
Tim Wakefield was a god when I was growing up where I did
..And in this part of Old England too, he was the reason I chose to follow the Sox
@@jimb9063 Really? I had know idea American modified cricket was a thing in Lil Britain? But sorry you've had to suffer along with us like this!
@@inconnu4961 Heh, it's not as popular as the 3 other main US sports I'd guess, but possibly growing a bit lately. We need a proper field here, bit of a farce playing at The Hammers ground IMO.
Watched a lot of MLBTV between 2002 to 2018 or so, work doesn't allow it now, (plus I'm too old to stay up!).
That makes me an incredibly lucky Sox fan really, I had to wait two years and have seen four series wins!
My favourite hobby is coming across followers of the Evil Empire and feigning ignorance about the game. Eventually I get round to asking if anyone has ever come back from being 3-0 down in the play-offs. They nod with a pained thousand yard stare, as if everything they'd been told about the world was a lie, and everything they thought was certain lies in tatters.
I then helpfully say "Oh yeah, was that when Millar drew a walk then pinch runner Dave Roberts.....?"
Heh, it's the little things.
My friends and I constantly tried to do it as well growing up in Lowell!
@@inconnu4961 your a more on only pUssys play cricket the most unathletic sport next to put put
As a Toronto boy, I remember RA and his knuckleball well. His whole life is an insane story from his early days to how he even started throwing the knuckleball in the first place
A knuckleballer would be an interesting middle reliever for a team to have in their back pocket. It's such a rare pitch with limited control that its kind of mindblowung how starters managed to crack the lineup and even produce decent ERAs throughout history...
Modern batters probably would have a hard time dealing with it because they never face it. Would actually be an ingenious move.
@digitalfootballer9032 Exactly. The only tricky part would be finding a catcher that can hold the fort behind the plate, but who can also hang well in the batting order. Other than that, the salary wouldn't be excessive, and you can use them as a mop up guy at first in blowouts to gain experience. If they sink, it's not a huge loss-- but if they swim, it's a great asset... and if they rise to the level of a starter, it's even better. There's a knuckleball renaissance spearheaded by Charlie Hough and Chris Nowlin, so all of these ideas might become reality in the next decade. 🤞
My dad who won a high school championship still throws it.Its really cool,he throws it at the ripe age of 43
Go to a Sunday Men's Adult Baseball League and you'll see plenty of guys throwing knuckleballs.
I was gonna say, I know 6 guys in my Sunday league that throw one (me included)
That’s cause everyone’s arms are blown out 😂
I'm joining a men's league at 37 and I'm bringing my knuckleball.
I played in an over 40 and now over 60 league and almost never see one
Those guys would get absolutely destroyed by any somewhat elite level hitter
The key to hitting a knuckleball: if it’s high let it fly, if it’s low let it go.
My Uncle Rick taught me to throw a knuckle ball. He was good enough to try out for the Oakland Athletics, however, as a young man, he stayed home in Kansas to take care of his mother and family. He ended up being an incredible Chef and he fed us at every family reunion until he passed away a few years ago. RIP Uncle Rick!!!
Tim Wakefield was a catcher and was about to be released by the Pirates. Before he could be released he told the club hey i can pitch too. The rest is history.
As a kid I played baseball with a kid, Jace Brewer, who went on to play for the KC Royals. But our first baseman, TJ Vanderburg had one of the best knuckle balls any kid had ever seen! He didn’t have speed, but that dancing knuckle ball was brutal to those youngsters! We had one of the best teams a kid could ask for! We were all such great friends back then! RIP Stringer #13
Not only is it hard to pitch, but its also hard to find a catcher that is willing to battery with a knucleballer. Josh Thole was sub par batter but an amazing Knuckleball Catcher!
"The best way to catch a knuckleball is to turn around, run to the backstop and pick it up when it stops rolling."
--"Mr. Baseball," Bob Uecker
You never know the power of a knuckleball til a buddy throws one unexpectedly and it dips below your glove and hits you dead center of the chest
I learned the knuckle ball from a coach who used to throw it. Then I moved to catcher and threw a knuckle when my pitcher wouldn’t listen to my signals. Got a few of them in the chest 😂😂 I’m good friends with a lot of my pitchers so we just laughed it off
@@inFAIMous2.0 when practicing we practice our knuckleballs instead of warming up properly haha I would catch them off to the side to avoid getting hit in center mass. I took a few off the wrist which is also no fun
@@caseyb2598 good ole times for sure
Does anyone remember ‘Ken Griffey Jr Baseball Game’ on N64? Tim Wakefield had a knuckleball AND a SUPER knuckleball in his pitch selections. You could also use the joystick while pitch was in the air to manually cause movement. THAT pitch was literally unhittable
Yes
Memories
I still have a 64 with that game. Wake was in the starting rotation of my super team. Goldeneye and Perfect Dark are the only games left.
I would have tried to learn it but when big leaguers throw it off speed at 55-70 mph ?? That's as hard as I can throw a ball . I probably can't throw 75 much less keep it still . It's an amazing talent and lots of fun to watch.
Wakefields occasionally used "fastball" was about 75mph which is a very mortal speed for a fastball. I think a lot of knuckleballers mastered it being they knew they'd never throw a fast enough fastball to be successful
Watching RA Dickey pitch for the Mets that year was amazing. I remember going taking the 7 line into Citi Field for so many of those games.
It’s insanely hard to throw a baseball without spinning it. It’s even hard to throw it with topspin for a curveball
I used to love watching Tom Candiotti throw knuckleballs. Another rare pitch is a screwball and Fernando Valenzuela was the master of it. Go Dodgers 💙
yeah candiotti had a slick repertoire
Problem with the screwball is its harder to throw than a curve ball
Instead of height it spins in n out at that elevation
When thrown really well it really SCREWS lefties (another reason you don't see it because lefties are 15 to 20 percent of MLB hitters)
Curveball give more options and can act like a discount knuckle ball
They are also easier to catch n less risky to hit a batter because everyone throws a Curveball
NOWADAYS hitting a batter can be automatic ejection
If I could pitch I would definitely throw a screwball (I would be a leftie so it would actually make sense to have that pitch)
You can get elevation if you take a little off it or have absurd spin rate but curves often more elevation change
If you focus on the word screw in screwball you can see what can go wrong for the pitcher
Screwballs are really good if you have great inside command and need something filthy
But again don't screw one up or it's DAY OVER because you gave up a meatball or hit a batter
Piece of Trivia: Carl Hubble was credited with being the pitcher who invented the screwball. After he retired, he walked around with the palm of his had facing out on his left arm, the effect of throwing so many screwballs in his career.
Of players I have seen play, Tug McGraw and Mike Cuellar had the best screwballs. What they did with that pitch was simply unfair.
I dont even watch baseball and this was very informative and entertaining. Great video brother keep it up ❤
I appreciate that! Thank you!!
then you have been miss informed.
The guy on youtube teaching me how to throw a knuckleball:
And doesn't know much about the pitch to boot
Walker Buehler started throwing it this last season. He added it to help make up for his drop in velocity after his 2nd TJ surgery. So the pitch is not dead.
Hello friend
The knuckleball is also difficult to throw for strikes consistently, and it is very difficult for catchers.
Many walks, stolen bases, and pass balls will happen when you have pitchers learning the knuckleball.
It takes years and years of practice to develop any good movement pitches perfectly
No it doesn't... just takes some actual dedication. That which this generation was never taught.
@@jonlanier_ Yeh, it doesn't make much sense to me that people used to have time to learn it, but not now. They're all on mandatory fire safety or inclusivity courses maybe?
Tim Wakefield needs to start up a camp just to teach people the knuckle
That's a pretty good idea. If more pitchers practiced it early on, they might have it down if they hit the big leagues. But it can't be their only pitch.
@@billmcmahon5454 Guys were knuckle only pitchers likely because the difficulty in making the ball knuckle requires one to throw it exclusively
@@MarvinBBallJones You know, I thought about that after I commented, but I could have sworn that Tim, Phil and Joe, Charlie Hough etc..had at least a slow curveball or somewhat of a fastball. I could be wrong on that though 🤔..
@@billmcmahon5454 Oh yeah, they basically all threw something of a fastball or mixed in other pitches, but the knucklers generally threw it most of the time
@@MarvinBBallJones Ah, ok. I kind of thought so. Watching Tim in the modern era, batters would expect the KB, but he would mix it with a (slow) fastball. Kind of wish the KB was still around. It definitely made for challenging batting.
I threw the Knuckle ball and Knuckle curve. I actually learned it from a book from the 50s or 60s. My cousin threw 102 for the Cardinals so..😅😅😅. I literally learned every pitch and would change up the speed and location. I threw 3/4s so it was easier to learn. It's very hard on your elbow. Arm placement is very important. You can't change slots on the Knuckle. You also don't need to use 2 knuckles, it's about having as little spin as possible.
Phil Niekro mastered the knuckle ball
My cousin!
@@ryankasper5747what about Joe Niekro?
@@ryankasper5747 very cool
Phil was the King of knuckleballs when he was on a losing team. If he had been on a later version of the Braves he could have won 30 games.
@@ashbyt1 318 careers wins still isn’t bad, but I could only imagine how he would’ve done with the Astros when his brother was playing there when they won the WS.
I’m not a baseball fan but I’ve always admired the player who can throw knuckleballs like it’s nothing. Genuinely one of the satisfying things to watch in sports
Thank you, great straight to the point answers to some oft questions about knuckle balls.
"If thrown incorrectly . . ."
Kids, don't practice until you get it right. Practice until you can't get it wrong.
It's not hard to learn.. it's hard to do well consistently.
Which would be what it means to "learn it" at a pro level.
Practice practice practice
“All pitches have spin”
“The knuckleball bas no spin”
Phil Niekro is the only knuckle ball pitcher who's a member of baseball's historic 300 wins and 3,000 strikeout clubs. His brother Joe Niekro was also a great knuckle ball pitcher.
My grandpa teach me this throw when i was 10-11 years old while playing tennis and he will make me throw knuckleball to him and and hit it with his racket i dont know what's going on in his head but i love him 😅
I play volleyball and we have a similar serve. It's called a float serve, and is done by hitting the ball with no spin, which makes it move around in flight.
It's not hard to throw at all. I learned on my own how to throw it when I was 10. Fifty years later I can still throw it at 60 mph.
I watched until the end. When I was in my high-school baseball team, there was a guy on an opposing team that had the strangest pitch. It wasn’t terribly fast, but I could never hit it.. nor most of my teammates! I asked our coach one day what kind of pitch that was … “ that’s a knuckle ball son, now learn to hit it!!” 🤣 I’ll never forget that day.
Don't forget that a knuckleballer will get out of the game if they break a nail
Just keep you 2 Vietnamese Women around the dugout on nights u pitch and you'll be around in your 70's
Goes for any pitcher
@@MarvinBBallJonesit's not nearly as dramatic, most guys that two finger grip a knuckle polish those nails into super long sharp coke nails basically, so they can dig in to the ball
I pitched all through little league and high school ball in the mid 90s . In high school I learned to throw a good split finger change up that acted a lot like a knuckle ball . It would dance and fall out the bottom as it reached the batter . By that time I’d already tore up my arm and was only good for 3-4 innings by the end . If the Tommy John surgery was as popular back then as today I might have had a decent chance of pitching in college . Fast ball and was 90-92 at 17 yrs old . But baseball was a way of life for me and so many other kids back then. Literally 90 % of all the boys played little league baseball . Such great times , learned to win and lose. Hard work pays off and you got what you earned . Life lessons learned playing a game !!!
Dickey was a beast with that knuckler..thanks dickey for all the great memories 🎉
"All pitches in baseball have some amount of spin on them"
"A well thrown knuckleball has no spin at all"
Edit: I literally just listed two contradictory statement that were made in the video. I know nothing about baseball. Please stop making "Um actually" statements I'm not trying to prove anything.
lol or the "there's no one around to teach it anymore" statement. Ummm... All the guys he named in the video are retired, not dead.
Not just that, but it isn't a pitcher's job to coach other pitchers. That responsibility lies with, wait for it, the pitching coaches.
@@jadger1871they're not "around" in the league. He never said they're dead.
The knuckleball is the exception. That's the point of the video. Don't try to sound smart.
@@SeraphsWitness Okay Google define joke
@@LimeonCandy Oh, it was a joke. Explain to me the funny part.
R.I.P. Tim Wakefield
A well thrown knuckleball actually has a quarter rotation on its way to the plate. Ik I sound like a nerd😅😂
“There’s no one to teach it…”
Gotta love that no one is capable of figuring things out themselves these days.
The head baseball coach was also our secondary coach for the football team. He could throw a football knuckle ball style. He could make that football do all kinda crazy moves and make the punt return guys try to catch it to keep them sharp. Fun to watch because he would make them look silly.
Jim Bouton's book "Ball Four" is all I can think about whenever someone talks about the knuckleball. It is an art form that is probably going the way of the 🦤. Such a wild pitch. The skill it takes to get a ball to dance is amazing. Favorite pitch.
I think another factor is that it eliminates the deception of secondary pitches. The release is so unique that if you had other pitches a hitter will be able to immediately tell that you’re throwing them.
Also never forget the split finger fastball of Mike Scott. In the words of Home run king Barry Bonds "absolutely unhittable.
I'm a lifelong Mets fan and man, I used to love watching RA dickey pitch. When he was on the top of his game, he was untouchable. One of the most entertaining pitchers imo.
I started playing baseball when I was old enough to swing a plastic bat and I was throwing a ball before I could walk. I pitched in my early teens and my dad taught me how to throw a knuckleball in elementary school. It was hard and my 50ish mph knuckleball wasn't consistent enough to throw in a game but it was my favorite pitch to throw during practice.
It’s also the same with the Jabulani, the ball used in the 2010 World Cup. The jabulani is perfectly circular, making so the air around it moves it in certain directions
The weather can affect the "dance" of the knuckeball too, as well as altitude. They might be slight variables to account for, but when those conditions are right, they can effectively negate the pitch, rendering it a slow change up.
This is such a smart commentary on an amazing pitch.
Im NGL when you said *"There is no one left to teach it* " i was like.....hold up did RA Dickey die???😂😂
The knuckeball is PURE INSTINCT..!!! When you HAVE it , as a pitcher,..you NEVER go BACK..!!! I absolutely LOVED pitching the knuckleball...!!!
Philip Niekro, played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball. Niekro is generally regarded as the greatest knuckleball pitcher of all time.
(Wikipedia)The average careers for pitchers is 4.8 years. Knuckleball pitchers tend to have longer careers because of less strain on their arms....
R.A. Dickey's Cy Young season was crazy. He was insanely accurate with his location throwing mostly knuckleballs and clocked at 80+ mph
I miss Dickey, he was great for the Jays, especially for his age. Was a treat to watch him.
Phil Niekro pitched for 24 years in MLB. He is generally regarded as the greatest knuckleball pitcher of all time.
Bob Uecker, one of his catchers, said the best way to catch a knuckleball was to wait til it stopped then go get it.
BTW: As hard as a knuckleball is to throw and catch, it can be equally hard of the fans. The suspense of strike, ball, wild pitch, passed ball, and "Wow, did that make the second deck?" added adventure to every pitch.
BTW2: Phil Niekro was an excellent fielder, possibly because of all the hit knuckleballs that didn't make it past the pitcher's mound.
Uecker also said he met a lot of wonderful people during his baseball career, and they all sat behind home plate.
The way I throw it is completely different and a lot easier if you have big hands, you throw it as if it is a forkball but you move your fingers about 1/4-1/2 of an inch up on the ball which will prevent top spin and cause it to do the exact same thing as a knuckleball, the only downside is that it is a lot faster than a knuckleball but if you can throw this pitch 90 I guarantee nobody can hit it.
My coaches in highschool told us they won’t teach it, but if we could throw it consistently in the zone, they would allow it. Me and 2 others out of our 5 pitchers got pretty good at them and ended up using them in a couple games.
What we found out is that it’s not a matter of just throwing a good pitch, sometimes they’d throw off the catcher, so we would only use them with 2 of our catchers
The only pitch I could ever throw was a screwball. Sometimes things just come naturally to you because you have bad form or you suck at other things.
I was left-handed and had an awkward delivery. I put three fingers on the ball and through kind of sidearmed and stayed on top of the ball. This resulted in a pitch that broke away from right-handed hitters and moved kind of downward. Nothing special compared to Major League pitches but playing in the schoolyard it was something that most people weren't used to seeing.
I called it the Masturbator. 55 mph of stupidity.
All those factors were around 20, 30, 40 years ago. It doesn’t explain why people don’t throw them today
I'm 52. I used to pitch the knuckle ball really well throughout high school. My favorite pitch. 👍
I was obsessed with learning the knuckle ball in high school.. to this day I can still throw it pretty accurately.. it took about 3 years to really get it down good. And I still love it.. when your in practice throwing around and you sling a knuckleball at a teammate and they go wtf is that lol I loved that feeling.. and showing them how to throw it of course because knowledge is useless if it isn’t preserved and passed on
The running game also makes it difficult with runners on. Wish there were more knuckleballers, makes baseball fun
As a lifelong Massachusetts resident a lifelong Red Sox fan. Tim Wakefield was so so so much fun to watch!!! He’d throw these potatoes where you could actually read the name on the ball as it was going down the plate and make guys look like fools! Swinging at nothing! 😂😂😂😂! I loved me some wake!!
My dad taught all my cousins how to throw a knuckleball 0 SPIN! He also taught me how to throw a knuckleball. Future MLB pitching coach??
My niece throws a good knuckle ball. Practices all winter in pitching training. She’s amazing
I remember throwing a knuckleball my junior year at this one batter and he started dancing around cause the thing began to dance. The hard thing about it is it is so hard to get any speed behind it. I use my middle and ring fingers to throw it, the art behind it is that your arm goes down (cause back spin ) but the flicking motion gives it front spin. You want them to be "equal" which is a zero spin!