I loved reading that book in middle school. He was inspiring and honestly I loved the knuckleball a lot that I was throwing it during baseball practices.
@@bgmt2183it’s basically throwing the ball but allowing no spin or super fine control of minimal spin. A sphere without spin creates a lot of turbulence causing the ball to have some form of randomness to it may also be controllable at his level idk.
It is like in the comics, where Taskmaster can observe and adjust to literally any opponent except for Deadpool, since Deadpool fights with complete improvisation and chaos.
I worked on the grounds grew for the mariners minor league team when he was there. I got to know him pretty well and he was the most down to earth player on the team. I have much respect for the man
@@unclejuan2274 Wakefield never had a full season with an ERA, ERA+, WHIP, or FIP lower than Dickey's in 2012. FIP never even close. Not even saying you're wrong about him being the best ever, just saying Dickey's peak was a league of its own for a short fleeting moment
That's really cool, but now the internet can narrow you down to one of ~1000 people. Someone can look through your yearbook and get your name from your face. Please be careful about sharing personally-identifiable information online.
With all due respect to Phil Niekro, I don't think he (or Tim Wakefield) ever threw a knuckleball that hit 80 mph. R.A. Dickey's peak was something else.
Yeah, dickey was far from the master. He had the luckiest season a knuckler ever had though. Nothing against dickey, but a knuckler relies on luck a lot. Especially in key situations it has to be an exceptional one either in or out of the zone. You also cant play them at all altitudes without major consequences
Leaving off an important part. Knuckleballs DO need finesse, but because of that, it meant that most knuckleballers were throwing it very slowly. Usually in the 80s. Dickey was throwing a mid to low 90s knuckleball which was absolutely unheard of at the time.
@squirrelpatrick3670 you are 100% correct RA Dickey was in the 80s, occasionally in the high 80s He never threw a knuckleball in the 90s Also his knuckleball coach Phil Niekro's younger brother Joe also threw a knuckleball which was also faster then usual for knuckleballs
Back when i played in highschool i had one pitcher that threw a knuckle... i fucking hated it. Even though it was more like a curve then a knuckle (it was hs of course it wasnt perfect) i could never freaking track it.
R.A. Dickey was my favorite Jays pitcher back when he used to play for them. My entire extended family (most of which lived in Toronto) were hardcore blue jays in the late 2000s/early-mid 2010s, and Dickey was loved by all of them. Even to this day, whenever my dad or I see a knuckle ball thrown in a game, we instantly think of this legend! The 2013-2016 Jays were so iconic, but they wouldn't have been nearly as iconic without R.A. Dickey
Yea. Me too. But he got roughed up big time in the American league.. I wanted him to succeed but he kept acquiring losses after losses.. was not a cy young caliber pitcher with the Jays.
It's actually the complete opposite. It's very common for aspiring pro pitchers to undergo a surgery where they reinforce the ligaments in your elbow. Like dude said in the video you can't throw as hard when your ligaments go to shit.
@lilydiring4295 yeah, there's a belief that a lot of guys who undergo Tommy John come back better than ever. My friend is an ortho and he had patients who were otherwise healthy but asked for UCL reconstruction.
If your referring to the claim of unmatched mastery of the knuckleball stated in the video then Phil Niekro has no claim as Hoyt Wilhelm had a mastery of the knuckleball unmatched by any pitcher since
I remember RA Dickey during his time with the Toronto Blue Jays! It was the last stretch of his career but he was a good guy in the Pitching Rotation. From what I can remember he was the 3rd or 4th guy in their Pitching Rotation.
I have the same issue with Baseball that I have with the other big american sport of football. There is a bit in the sport that is actually quite interesting and cool but then there is like 90% of fluff of people just standing about and nothing happening and games taking ages that is far too boring for me to ever consistently enjoy. Highlight reels are cool, watching 4hrs of game is not.
@@frosthammer917baseball was made like 150 years ago. In 1900 it would have been thrilling. Baseball is made for radio too. It works because it's slow.
Met him while he was in the Hawaii Winter Baseball League. He had the mentality to play. But who knew. It shows its dedication and heart not just skill. Many players with skill but no heart or dedication that will end up nowhere. RA wherever you are we still love you man.
Some of the info you provide in this vid is incorrect. Teams did not pass on R.A. because of medical concerns, he was a 1st round pick drafted 18th overall by the Rangers. His lack of a UCL wasnt discovered until his standard physical with Texas prior to signing. It did cause the Rangers to significantly decrease their offer to him, but he still ultimately signed with and debuted with the Rangers. He also did this while still utilizing a traditional pitchers repitoire, but due to his elbow defect, he rapidly began losing fastball velo, and debuted throwing his fastball under 90mph most of the time. It wasnt until years later, after all but flaming out as a prospect that he made the decision to learn to throw the knuckleball
Goddamn, to know your defect compared to others but then turning it into your strength that surpassed the norm is beyond crazy inspiring. I myself want to find what i lack in parts of my live and to find strength in what potential i have.
I was a great pitcher. For being self taught. I couldn’t throw that hard but I mastered the filthy stuff. Curveball cutter slider Vulcan change and yes the knuckleball. I had three of them. Knuckle curve knuckle change and what I called the holy knuckler. Which was basically a prayer I threw. Even I didn’t know what it would do
For anyone who isn't a baseball fan, here's a little primer. Firstly, people use terms like "movement, or flight, or curve" but that's all bs. Every pitch goes follows an arc. They throw a little bit up, and then it falls down. With a lot of spin, they can drift a little to the left or right, but the flight paths are often exaggerated for the layman. The real effect is that pitches get released in a certain way, and they move too fast to watch them and see where they are going before you swing. You have to recognize the release and predict based on that. Batters are very good a recognising these releases. The term movement more or less refers to the discrepancy between the predicted and actual arcs. For example, a rising fast ball doesn't actually rise. It is just moving so fast and with so much spin that it ends up crossing the plate at a nearly flat curve, and the batter swings under it expecting it to drop more. Wild movement just means that the arc is really unpredictable because the spin and speed are unpredictable. Secondly, the knuckle ball isn't that good of a pitch. It comes with a lot of trade offs. The "wild" movement means that when you hit it, you have a good chance of going foul, because even if you have a good read on the target, the spin and speed are probably slightly different than you expect, but it's actually easier to hit because it is slower, and ultimately harder for the pitcher to control. What Dickey did was he threw an unusually fast knuckler, around 75-85mph. This was just slow enough to throw off a hitter's timing, and just fast enough to force them to commit to the swing. Again, if you aren't a big fan, then you don't realise that the mechanics required to hit a line drive or a home run necessitate heavy loading on the swing, and commitment to swing placement. It's hard to make adjustments mid swing with that much power. Pitches have fairly predictable arcs based on speed and spin, and depending on the skill of the pitcher they can put it fairly consistently into 1 of four quadrants. So, if you know what pitch they are throwing, and where it is going on release, then you can have a pretty good idea of where it is going through be roughly, and you swing hard in that area and hope for the best. If you swing too late or early, it will chip, foul, or fly up, and you'll be out, or at the very least, down a swing. That's why it is important to time it correctly, because all of your power has to go out all at once. If your placement is off then you'll strike out. That's why it is necessary to have a good guess as to the balls flight path. A really good hitter will study the pitcher beforehand, know what his releases look like, and be able to instantly know roughly what pitch is being thrown and to where. That's why most of the best starting pitchers have multiple combinations of pitches they can throw. They will use pitches with a similar release, but a different speed or spin rate, to confuse batters into commiting to the wrong swing. The more combinations they have like that, the harder it is for a batter to figure you out. Eventually, they do though, and the better you are, the more they will focus on trying to figure you out in training. This is why relief pitchers can get away with having only 1 or 2 really good pitches, because likely a batter will only get 1 or 2 chances at the plate with them before the game is over. Now, RA Dickey threw a knuckler, and he could throw it in a variety of subtle ways that changed things significantly. Having good knuckle ball control is like having 6 different pitches, which is a lot. The problem is usually consistency, but Dickey was pretty consistent. However, it is a slower pitch, and once batters get a bit of experience with you, they will start to figure you out. That extra split second allows them to wait a bit more to guess the flight based on more than the release, and once they figure that out, it is over. Ironically, the lack of control with knuckle balls can sometimes help, because it makes it harder to guess where it is going. Anyway, he was a Cy winner, so people invested a lot of time into figuring him out, and only a few years later, he was considered over the hill. Doing a good knuckle takes a lot of focus and attention because you have to make it essentially your entire arsenal. It's very obvious if you switch from almost any pitch to a knuckle ball, but not if you switch around your knuckle ball. The slow speed makes it easier to hit, and that's why, before Dickey, there hadn't been a knuckler for years, and why there aren't any now. His real innovation that made it viable, at least in the short term, was the speed. It was very fast for a knuckle ball, and it meant that guys had less time to predict its flight path.
A rising fastball is called that because to the batter, it looks like it rises. Because the pitcher is standing on the mound, above the batter, and throwing overhand, the ball is released from above the batter's head. So a normal pitch is angled down and drops quite a bit. A "rising" fastball doesn't drop as much so it's higher than the batter expects. It looks like it's rising for the same reason a room temperature bowl of water feels cold after you put your hand in a bowl of hot water. This is different from a pitch like a curveball, which can actually curve six inches or more. It doesn't sound like much, but a baseball is only a little under three inches in diameter, and the batter has less than a second to try to hit it.
Please...please pleeeeeaaaase look up Tim Wakefield...he's the best Knuckleball pitcher ever and played for alot longer than Dickey and overlapped playing time with Dickey sooooo if you know Dickey you damn sure should know Timmy
@avrahamscher1356 Dickey had 3 great season in the most pitcher friendly ballpark in the MLB. How many big games did Dickey pitch in? What division is statistically the hardest division the entire time these two pitched....Wakefield is the Knuckleball...RA immediately declined when he came intonthe AL East and Tim Pitched until HE WAS 44!!!...its no contest
I'm an old man. I saw both pitch. I looked hard at their stats. Wakefield had the better career and Wakefield's best 2 seasons (1995,2002) are automatically better than anything Dickey did, due to the fact that he did it in Fenway during the PED era. I'd give the edge to Wakefield based on that - no contest - BUT - Dickey's story is very sexy. Dickey's best 3 years were all consecutive (2010-2012) and were better than anything Wakefield did that's not 1995,2002. Dickey's 3 great years with the Mets as a knuckleballer deserve to be celebrated without having to hear the name Wakefield.
This is a true fact, my dad can throw a really good knuckleball but he had to stop playing baseball in collage due to shoulder problems, to this day he still loves to throw the ball around and show me and my siblings how good he could’ve been
RA Dickey was something else. I do remember he threw quite a few wild pitches in a single inning. Cant recall if it was a record or not. But, it was quite a few. But then turns around with the Mets and delivers one of the wildest seasons I have ever seen.
I was playing dodgeball at the local trampoline park, and some kid was throwing knuckleballs with a foam dodgeball. It’s was crazy. He also threw faster than I’ve ever seen someone throw there.
In Dickey’s 14 seasons aside form 2012, he had more losses than wind and an ERA over 4.5 over those 14 years. He had a good single year, but he wasn’t nearly a wizard nor did he master the knuckleball (at least well enough to win more games than he lost).
The only other player to be prolific with the knuckleball is Charlie Hough, who played for the rangers decades ago. His fastball was only like 60 MPH, but his knuckleball was 40, so he’d throw two knuckles, both strikes, then just chuck it down the middle and people would screw themselves into the ground swinging way faster than needed
I saw a knuckleball pitcher pitch against the O’s in the 80s. The guy was in his 60s iirc. I think at the time he was the only knuckleball pitcher in the league.
Don't forget about Hoyt Wilhelm. 20-year career starting at age 29. And this was after fighting in WWII. The knuckler is tough to throw but causes way less stress on an arm than a curveball. Hence, why many (good) knuckleball hurlers retire so much later than their counterparts.
I was a right-handed hitter and only faced a few decent knuckleballs. If it was actually jumping around, I batted lefty and swung at the bottom of the baseball. I know I wasn't facing Dickey, but it worked pretty well for me.
The slow pitch speed of the knuckleball means pitchers who can throw it have crazy long careers, usually into their 40's. Knucklballer Phil Niekro didn't retire until 48.
The other side is that the knuckle ball is also the hardest to control and catch. In 2015, 4th game of the World Series, he got lit up by the KC Royals and got knocked out in the second inning. He gave up enough runs to lose the entire game at that point.
RA Dickey's knuckler was so hard to hit because he was able to throw it much harder than anyone else. He threw 10-15 mph harder than Wakefield, with just as much movement.
Once in middle school, my coach was throwing me some baseballs, and I missed them all. Then he threw a knuckle ball, and I drove that ball all the way in the far outfield 😂
Fun fact every junk ball can be tamed at the front line nearest the pitcher but you eventually have to pull the fastball the closer you get but can slow your bat speed to hit to the opposite field with less power 😮
You can actually see some batters try to adjust their swinging trajectory at the last split second, only to STILL come up empty. Proud to be able to say I cheered for him from the stands at Citi Field.
Knuckleball pitchers can have great careers. Wilbur Wood did, for the Chicago White Sox: In a 17-year major league career, Wood compiled a 164-156 record with a 3.24 ERA in 661 games. He had 1,411 strikeouts in 2,684 innings pitched, completing 114 games (24 of which were shutouts) of his 297 games started.[4] Wood started 70 games on two days' rest, the highest total since 1914 with the exception of Grover Cleveland Alexander, who did so 72 times in that period
His story is WILD, i recommend picking up his book
I loved reading that book in middle school. He was inspiring and honestly I loved the knuckleball a lot that I was throwing it during baseball practices.
@@lonzeoI’m no expert on baseball but I don’t think people in high school usually throw knuckleballs. You might be going places man
Is it good?
@@bgmt2183it’s basically throwing the ball but allowing no spin or super fine control of minimal spin. A sphere without spin creates a lot of turbulence causing the ball to have some form of randomness to it may also be controllable at his level idk.
Reading a book is crazy like it's not that serious it's just sports that people watch for entertainment 😂
He's backstory is straight up a backstory of an anime protagonist from a sports genre.
Now i wanna read his book lol
Any kind of anime tbh, "I'm different from all my peers but can use that to my strength due to innovative thinking" is a common theme
Funnily enough, there is an anime where the main character can't pitch as hard as his rival, so he resorts to a more unique style of pitching.
One outs? @@macchiato_1881
I recommend you guys watch Major a good baseball anime it's like Naruto but baseball naruto
The Knuckleball is the ultimate "you can't know what I'm doing if I don't even know what I'm doing" pitch
It is like in the comics, where Taskmaster can observe and adjust to literally any opponent except for Deadpool, since Deadpool fights with complete improvisation and chaos.
@@mrbean3470 Then he proceeds to go crazy in the one comic that he's actually able to mimic him lol (Deadpool kills the Marvel Universe)
Fun fact: the X-ray shown at the beginning of the video is a knee
That looks like the radial head tho?
@@billyh1435 The x-ray on the slide with Most Pitcher's Arms as the caption
There was no xray
@@jame2742not a literal x ray
@@jame2742tf you talking about that was literally a radiograph 🗿
I worked on the grounds grew for the mariners minor league team when he was there. I got to know him pretty well and he was the most down to earth player on the team. I have much respect for the man
My dad went to high school with him and would play pickup football with him and said he was a pretty chill dude
@@MrMini-uk1ku yeah, he was the only one to not show up to practice in a flashy car either. Lol. He always showed up in a beat up old truck
My dad was friends with I’m in college
The grounds grew 💀
@@Potatopogchamp ?
"Defying physics" when a knuckleball is literally physics in motion
Batters also aren't really swinging at ghosts.
- ☝️🤓
Hyperbole exists you know!
Well the ball isn't spinning, so the batters can't predict it's movement.
It's called a hyperbole
Tim Wakefield's knuckleball was truly unique and game-changing. RIP to a legend of the game.
He's not dead tho?
Nvm just re read 😅😂
Chicken.
Wakefield had nothing on dickeys
Phil Niekro is a HoF knuckelball pitcher who played 24y until he was 48yo. Let's not forget about him.
or Wood
Hough
Wilhelm
Wakefield
or his brother Joe........
Wasnt Fernando a knuckle baller as well. Or was that a screwball?
@@bobsmith6544Screwball
Classic "history began when I was born" video.
Yea this dude who made this video has no clue what he’s talking about
Can't forget about Phil Niekro who was a master of the knuckleball back in 87.
I saw Wilbur Wood of the Chicago White Sox finish a previously incomplete game, then start the regular game back in the 70's.
Or Hoyt Wilhelm
Tim Wakefield is far by the best knuckler in 2000s RIP to the legend
Absolutely
Wakefield was the best with his longevity of success with it but Dickey at his peak was unmatched
@@georger2262 Wakefield is the best knuckler in 2000s theres no questioning it and he did with roid era lol
@@unclejuan2274 Wakefield never had a full season with an ERA, ERA+, WHIP, or FIP lower than Dickey's in 2012. FIP never even close. Not even saying you're wrong about him being the best ever, just saying Dickey's peak was a league of its own for a short fleeting moment
I said 'lower' which doesn't apply to ERA+ but you know what I mean
“Most pitchers arms are turned to mush” … shows an xray of a knee 😂
I think it'd be very hard to throw a baseball if your elbow looked like that 😂
That's what happens when pitchers throw for 9 innings. Their elbows turn into knees
Yeah, this guy stinks. He said cy Young is awarded to the best pitcher in baseball
He’s now the pitching coach on my high school baseball team. He’s a great guy and a great coach
That's really cool, but now the internet can narrow you down to one of ~1000 people. Someone can look through your yearbook and get your name from your face. Please be careful about sharing personally-identifiable information online.
@@abadhaiku nobody wants this guys information bro. people don't dox for no reason
@@abadhaikuyea who gives a fuck
@@twiwi dude there are people who just dox for the hell of it and those who do for a reason are very bad
@@twiwi You severely underestimate how cruel people can be.
"Nobody mastered it more than Dickey"
Phil Niekro: "Am I a joke to you?"
If you played a sport before the RUclips era, you don't exist today.
With all due respect to Phil Niekro, I don't think he (or Tim Wakefield) ever threw a knuckleball that hit 80 mph. R.A. Dickey's peak was something else.
Yeah, dickey was far from the master. He had the luckiest season a knuckler ever had though. Nothing against dickey, but a knuckler relies on luck a lot. Especially in key situations it has to be an exceptional one either in or out of the zone. You also cant play them at all altitudes without major consequences
Leaving off an important part.
Knuckleballs DO need finesse, but because of that, it meant that most knuckleballers were throwing it very slowly. Usually in the 80s. Dickey was throwing a mid to low 90s knuckleball which was absolutely unheard of at the time.
Holy Snikes! A 90+ knuckle ball? That's monstrous! The short maker really dropped the ball not including that...
Lol Wakefield was in the 60's and 70's.
I thought most knuckleballs were 70s and Dickey was 80s
@squirrelpatrick3670 you are 100% correct
RA Dickey was in the 80s, occasionally in the high 80s
He never threw a knuckleball in the 90s
Also his knuckleball coach Phil Niekro's younger brother Joe also threw a knuckleball which was also faster then usual for knuckleballs
It's still unheard of
Dickey threw in the 80s not the 90s
Most knuckleball pitchers are in the 70s or 60s
Tim Wakefields knuckleball deserves some respect too. RIP.
Yes I was looking for you. You're right that man was the man! for that pitch R.I.P TIM W.
As a Yankee fan,I never enjoyed losing to him. But just watching him make that ball dance was amazing.
I think RA Dickey would tell you that Wake was the King.
He’s my family friend and baseball coach love to watch his success
Back when i played in highschool i had one pitcher that threw a knuckle... i fucking hated it. Even though it was more like a curve then a knuckle (it was hs of course it wasnt perfect) i could never freaking track it.
RIP Tim Wakefield
I love knuckleballs. It's the most beautiful thing in all of sports.
Each to there own but i would say a female track and field star, russian tripple jumper or blonde polish pole volter would be a lot more sexy
R.A. Dickey was my favorite Jays pitcher back when he used to play for them. My entire extended family (most of which lived in Toronto) were hardcore blue jays in the late 2000s/early-mid 2010s, and Dickey was loved by all of them. Even to this day, whenever my dad or I see a knuckle ball thrown in a game, we instantly think of this legend! The 2013-2016 Jays were so iconic, but they wouldn't have been nearly as iconic without R.A. Dickey
Charlie Hough begs to differ.
The wizard analogy is perfect because watching him was magic. When he played for the Jays, I never missed his starts.
Yea. Me too. But he got roughed up big time in the American league.. I wanted him to succeed but he kept acquiring losses after losses.. was not a cy young caliber pitcher with the Jays.
Bro got champions league in his arms
This should be made into a movie, what an AMAZING example of a “defect” becoming one’s ace in the hole.
Moneyball did that in spades though
"Hey doc, I wanty kid to be a pro pitcher, can you remove his UCL please?"
It's actually the complete opposite. It's very common for aspiring pro pitchers to undergo a surgery where they reinforce the ligaments in your elbow. Like dude said in the video you can't throw as hard when your ligaments go to shit.
@@lilydiring4295 "Nevermind doc."
@lilydiring4295 yeah, there's a belief that a lot of guys who undergo Tommy John come back better than ever. My friend is an ortho and he had patients who were otherwise healthy but asked for UCL reconstruction.
A superb athlete. Adapting to a situation that many thought he wasn’t any good from what they knew about him.
He proved them wrong, great on that guy
Bro was born for this
Phil Niekro would like to have a word.
If your referring to the claim of unmatched mastery of the knuckleball stated in the video then Phil Niekro has no claim as Hoyt Wilhelm had a mastery of the knuckleball unmatched by any pitcher since
I remember RA Dickey during his time with the Toronto Blue Jays! It was the last stretch of his career but he was a good guy in the Pitching Rotation.
From what I can remember he was the 3rd or 4th guy in their Pitching Rotation.
I hate when people say “defying the laws of physics” when usually the laws of physics are what causes the action
No UCL? Sounds a lot like PSG to me
😂
I saw someone describe baseball as turn based combat and that honestly explains why I like it more than any other sport lmao
I have the same issue with Baseball that I have with the other big american sport of football. There is a bit in the sport that is actually quite interesting and cool but then there is like 90% of fluff of people just standing about and nothing happening and games taking ages that is far too boring for me to ever consistently enjoy. Highlight reels are cool, watching 4hrs of game is not.
@@frosthammer917baseball was made like 150 years ago. In 1900 it would have been thrilling. Baseball is made for radio too. It works because it's slow.
I’ll subscribe to this man. I like the way he carries himself.
Still one of my favorite pitcher ever, defying odds and all of us
Tim Wakefield
Met him while he was in the Hawaii Winter Baseball League. He had the mentality to play. But who knew. It shows its dedication and heart not just skill. Many players with skill but no heart or dedication that will end up nowhere. RA wherever you are we still love you man.
Tom Wakefield was another incredible knuckleballer. RIP Timmy Wake!
Some of the info you provide in this vid is incorrect. Teams did not pass on R.A. because of medical concerns, he was a 1st round pick drafted 18th overall by the Rangers. His lack of a UCL wasnt discovered until his standard physical with Texas prior to signing. It did cause the Rangers to significantly decrease their offer to him, but he still ultimately signed with and debuted with the Rangers.
He also did this while still utilizing a traditional pitchers repitoire, but due to his elbow defect, he rapidly began losing fastball velo, and debuted throwing his fastball under 90mph most of the time.
It wasnt until years later, after all but flaming out as a prospect that he made the decision to learn to throw the knuckleball
Tim Wakefield left the chat
literally :/
Dickey and Wakefield are the best knuckleballers of their generation. Their is a documentary that talks about both of them called knuckleball
Tim Wakefields had crazy movement
@@chadm6398 fs they show a lot of his best pitches in the documentary and that bitch would dance in mid air 🤣
Perfect example of “when one door shuts, another one opens”
Goddamn, to know your defect compared to others but then turning it into your strength that surpassed the norm is beyond crazy inspiring. I myself want to find what i lack in parts of my live and to find strength in what potential i have.
My mom could throw a pretty good knuckleball when she pitched for Michigan
He didn't win it for being the best pitchers in baseball he got it for his on base percentage
So the neat part about the Cy Young Award is that it goes to “The Best Pitcher In Baseball” for that year. And Dickey won it in 2012, soooo 🤷♂️
@@PesciBrothers na it's for o.p.s.
@@PesciBrothers nolan Ryan never won cy young lol so yea the award is like the gold glove just popularity
I love knuckleballs in any sport, but nothings better than a float in volleyball that drifts around someone’s arms😂
Dickey’s time in TO was underrated …👏🏼
Blue Jay legend
Therefore the world
I was a great pitcher. For being self taught. I couldn’t throw that hard but I mastered the filthy stuff. Curveball cutter slider Vulcan change and yes the knuckleball. I had three of them. Knuckle curve knuckle change and what I called the holy knuckler. Which was basically a prayer I threw. Even I didn’t know what it would do
I like the body language of the catcher after a nasty strikeout, the hitter got rocked
For anyone who isn't a baseball fan, here's a little primer. Firstly, people use terms like "movement, or flight, or curve" but that's all bs. Every pitch goes follows an arc. They throw a little bit up, and then it falls down. With a lot of spin, they can drift a little to the left or right, but the flight paths are often exaggerated for the layman. The real effect is that pitches get released in a certain way, and they move too fast to watch them and see where they are going before you swing. You have to recognize the release and predict based on that. Batters are very good a recognising these releases. The term movement more or less refers to the discrepancy between the predicted and actual arcs. For example, a rising fast ball doesn't actually rise. It is just moving so fast and with so much spin that it ends up crossing the plate at a nearly flat curve, and the batter swings under it expecting it to drop more. Wild movement just means that the arc is really unpredictable because the spin and speed are unpredictable. Secondly, the knuckle ball isn't that good of a pitch. It comes with a lot of trade offs. The "wild" movement means that when you hit it, you have a good chance of going foul, because even if you have a good read on the target, the spin and speed are probably slightly different than you expect, but it's actually easier to hit because it is slower, and ultimately harder for the pitcher to control. What Dickey did was he threw an unusually fast knuckler, around 75-85mph. This was just slow enough to throw off a hitter's timing, and just fast enough to force them to commit to the swing. Again, if you aren't a big fan, then you don't realise that the mechanics required to hit a line drive or a home run necessitate heavy loading on the swing, and commitment to swing placement. It's hard to make adjustments mid swing with that much power. Pitches have fairly predictable arcs based on speed and spin, and depending on the skill of the pitcher they can put it fairly consistently into 1 of four quadrants. So, if you know what pitch they are throwing, and where it is going on release, then you can have a pretty good idea of where it is going through be roughly, and you swing hard in that area and hope for the best. If you swing too late or early, it will chip, foul, or fly up, and you'll be out, or at the very least, down a swing. That's why it is important to time it correctly, because all of your power has to go out all at once. If your placement is off then you'll strike out. That's why it is necessary to have a good guess as to the balls flight path. A really good hitter will study the pitcher beforehand, know what his releases look like, and be able to instantly know roughly what pitch is being thrown and to where. That's why most of the best starting pitchers have multiple combinations of pitches they can throw. They will use pitches with a similar release, but a different speed or spin rate, to confuse batters into commiting to the wrong swing. The more combinations they have like that, the harder it is for a batter to figure you out. Eventually, they do though, and the better you are, the more they will focus on trying to figure you out in training. This is why relief pitchers can get away with having only 1 or 2 really good pitches, because likely a batter will only get 1 or 2 chances at the plate with them before the game is over. Now, RA Dickey threw a knuckler, and he could throw it in a variety of subtle ways that changed things significantly. Having good knuckle ball control is like having 6 different pitches, which is a lot. The problem is usually consistency, but Dickey was pretty consistent. However, it is a slower pitch, and once batters get a bit of experience with you, they will start to figure you out. That extra split second allows them to wait a bit more to guess the flight based on more than the release, and once they figure that out, it is over. Ironically, the lack of control with knuckle balls can sometimes help, because it makes it harder to guess where it is going. Anyway, he was a Cy winner, so people invested a lot of time into figuring him out, and only a few years later, he was considered over the hill. Doing a good knuckle takes a lot of focus and attention because you have to make it essentially your entire arsenal. It's very obvious if you switch from almost any pitch to a knuckle ball, but not if you switch around your knuckle ball. The slow speed makes it easier to hit, and that's why, before Dickey, there hadn't been a knuckler for years, and why there aren't any now. His real innovation that made it viable, at least in the short term, was the speed. It was very fast for a knuckle ball, and it meant that guys had less time to predict its flight path.
A rising fastball is called that because to the batter, it looks like it rises. Because the pitcher is standing on the mound, above the batter, and throwing overhand, the ball is released from above the batter's head. So a normal pitch is angled down and drops quite a bit. A "rising" fastball doesn't drop as much so it's higher than the batter expects. It looks like it's rising for the same reason a room temperature bowl of water feels cold after you put your hand in a bowl of hot water.
This is different from a pitch like a curveball, which can actually curve six inches or more. It doesn't sound like much, but a baseball is only a little under three inches in diameter, and the batter has less than a second to try to hit it.
Disagree. “When you say no other pitcher mastered it more” I’d say Phil nikero is the goat knuckleballer
Wakefield
What about Tim Wakefield RIP
Dickey was almost a Drs physical away from being out of baseball. Glad he did well and took care of his family quite well, eventually
He did some great work with the Bluejays. Been a lifelong Jays fan.
That’s literally teaching a new dog old tricks.
RIP Tim.
Always the GOAT knuckle baller to me
I’m a blue jay fan and that makes me so happy u make this vid
Dickey is an amazing man! I'm not into baseball but now I want to see more of Dickey!
RA? Piss off, Tim Wakefield was and is /the/ knuckleballer
Man have some respect for RA
Tim Learned from Phil and Joe Niekro
Please...please pleeeeeaaaase look up Tim Wakefield...he's the best Knuckleball pitcher ever and played for alot longer than Dickey and overlapped playing time with Dickey sooooo if you know Dickey you damn sure should know Timmy
Tim never won a cy young and had much worse stats including ERA, etc
@avrahamscher1356 Dickey had 3 great season in the most pitcher friendly ballpark in the MLB. How many big games did Dickey pitch in? What division is statistically the hardest division the entire time these two pitched....Wakefield is the Knuckleball...RA immediately declined when he came intonthe AL East and Tim Pitched until HE WAS 44!!!...its no contest
I agree with you, but it's worth noting Dickie did not have a positive ERA+ until he was 35, but I do not believe it was the fault of his own
I'm an old man. I saw both pitch. I looked hard at their stats. Wakefield had the better career and Wakefield's best 2 seasons (1995,2002) are automatically better than anything Dickey did, due to the fact that he did it in Fenway during the PED era. I'd give the edge to Wakefield based on that - no contest - BUT - Dickey's story is very sexy. Dickey's best 3 years were all consecutive (2010-2012) and were better than anything Wakefield did that's not 1995,2002. Dickey's 3 great years with the Mets as a knuckleballer deserve to be celebrated without having to hear the name Wakefield.
"I do not fear. the man who has practiced a thousand different kicks, but I fear the man who has practiced 1 kick a thousand times" - Bruce Lee
This is a true fact, my dad can throw a really good knuckleball but he had to stop playing baseball in collage due to shoulder problems, to this day he still loves to throw the ball around and show me and my siblings how good he could’ve been
I don't even like baseball but these shorts are giving me an appreciation for the sport.
What made Dickey so great that year wasn't a slow knuckleball. It was that he briefly threw it 90 mph and mixed in his fastball again.
Knuckleball pitchers are truly one-of-a-kind in the game. RIP to Tim Wakefield.
Not trying to be unoriginal, so I won’t
yo chicken abouth wizards are you team knight or team gnome
Tom Candiotti back in the 90s was real nice...
When I played High School Baseball back in the early 70’s, I was a pitcher and threw a great four fingered knuckleball.
RA Dickey was something else. I do remember he threw quite a few wild pitches in a single inning. Cant recall if it was a record or not. But, it was quite a few. But then turns around with the Mets and delivers one of the wildest seasons I have ever seen.
Tim Wakefield was the best knucleball pitcher ever, starter closer relief specialist you name it that man did it with the Boston red sox
I was playing dodgeball at the local trampoline park, and some kid was throwing knuckleballs with a foam dodgeball. It’s was crazy. He also threw faster than I’ve ever seen someone throw there.
the epitome of "work smarter, not harder"
I love the fact he was on the Jays makes me a proud fan from so long ago
Deviating from the expected strategy is the best way to catch people off guard
In Dickey’s 14 seasons aside form 2012, he had more losses than wind and an ERA over 4.5 over those 14 years. He had a good single year, but he wasn’t nearly a wizard nor did he master the knuckleball (at least well enough to win more games than he lost).
that's crazy, he's a damn good pitcher
The only other player to be prolific with the knuckleball is Charlie Hough, who played for the rangers decades ago. His fastball was only like 60 MPH, but his knuckleball was 40, so he’d throw two knuckles, both strikes, then just chuck it down the middle and people would screw themselves into the ground swinging way faster than needed
This man is poetic
Coolest baseball news I’ve heard in quite some time
I saw a knuckleball pitcher pitch against the O’s in the 80s. The guy was in his 60s iirc. I think at the time he was the only knuckleball pitcher in the league.
Don't forget about Hoyt Wilhelm. 20-year career starting at age 29. And this was after fighting in WWII. The knuckler is tough to throw but causes way less stress on an arm than a curveball. Hence, why many (good) knuckleball hurlers retire so much later than their counterparts.
I remember those days and he sure was a wizard!
Not only are they hard to hit, they're harder to catch as opposed to other pitches. They go whatever direction they want to.
I was a right-handed hitter and only faced a few decent knuckleballs. If it was actually jumping around, I batted lefty and swung at the bottom of the baseball. I know I wasn't facing Dickey, but it worked pretty well for me.
The slow pitch speed of the knuckleball means pitchers who can throw it have crazy long careers, usually into their 40's. Knucklballer Phil Niekro didn't retire until 48.
“And his ball is nasty"😂
The other side is that the knuckle ball is also the hardest to control and catch. In 2015, 4th game of the World Series, he got lit up by the KC Royals and got knocked out in the second inning. He gave up enough runs to lose the entire game at that point.
he lived on my street in toronto when i was a kid and I would play with his kids :) super chill guy
RA Dickey's knuckler was so hard to hit because he was able to throw it much harder than anyone else. He threw 10-15 mph harder than Wakefield, with just as much movement.
I would always go see him in DODGERS,ANGELS,PADRES
LOVE IT
I watched R.A Dickey play the Reds in 2013 when he was on the Blue Jays and man it was a fun game
Dickey and Buehrle were absolutely lights out for the Jays. If it wasn't for that insane KC Royals team...
Once in middle school, my coach was throwing me some baseballs, and I missed them all. Then he threw a knuckle ball, and I drove that ball all the way in the far outfield 😂
Fun fact every junk ball can be tamed at the front line nearest the pitcher but you eventually have to pull the fastball the closer you get but can slow your bat speed to hit to the opposite field with less power 😮
His whole story is insane, especially his childhood.
In my opinion the knuckle ball would actually be a really great example of physics
It’s like a float serve in volleyball, sure it’s slow, but speed doesn’t matter if it’s too hard to hit without it
As a Met fan, he was great to watch!
You can actually see some batters try to adjust their swinging trajectory at the last split second, only to STILL come up empty. Proud to be able to say I cheered for him from the stands at Citi Field.
RA is the reason I won my league that year, God damn legend!
Knuckleball pitchers can have great careers. Wilbur Wood did, for the Chicago White Sox:
In a 17-year major league career, Wood compiled a 164-156 record with a 3.24 ERA in 661 games. He had 1,411 strikeouts in 2,684 innings pitched, completing 114 games (24 of which were shutouts) of his 297 games started.[4] Wood started 70 games on two days' rest, the highest total since 1914 with the exception of Grover Cleveland Alexander, who did so 72 times in that period