R.A. Dickey, Phil Niekro, Charlie Hough, And Tim Wakefield Hold Private Knuckleballer Symposium

by Eric Simon on Nov 10, 2011 10:30 PM EST

I want to go to there:

spent a day and a half with phil neikro, charlie hough, and tim wakefield.over 700 wins between them, when you add me in you have a few moreFri Nov 11 03:10:47 via webR.A. Dickey
RADickey43

4 knuckleballers together telling knuckleball stories. it was incredible.Fri Nov 11 03:11:30 via webR.A. Dickey
RADickey43

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R.A. is the most interesting player in baseball

I don’t always pitch balls, but when I do, I prefer knuckleballs.

Still Amazin'.
Jose Reyes is a MET in 2012.

by piazza62 on Nov 10, 2011 10:44 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Ah, this

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!" Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 458 posts (08/24/11)
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by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Nov 10, 2011 11:59 PM EST up reply actions 15 recs

Ahem...

this needs to be green

"Those who fear disorder more than injustice inevitably produce more of both." -- Rev. William Coffin

by dcrockett17 on Nov 11, 2011 10:32 AM EST up reply actions

Done.

"And that's why anybody who invested with Lenny Dykstra should really call that number. Lawyers are standing by."

by BobbyV_Incognito on Nov 11, 2011 10:33 AM EST up reply actions

To have been a fly on that wall...

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!" Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 458 posts (08/24/11)
3rd Place- 2011 AAOP Contest

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Nov 10, 2011 11:58 PM EST reply actions

And, on a related note, anyone have a link to the Dickeyface of the "Creation of Adam"?

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!" Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 458 posts (08/24/11)
3rd Place- 2011 AAOP Contest

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Nov 11, 2011 12:30 AM EST up reply actions

I would totally have bought tickets to sit in on that conversation.

"And that's why anybody who invested with Lenny Dykstra should really call that number. Lawyers are standing by."

by BobbyV_Incognito on Nov 11, 2011 3:17 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

They should have made it pay-per-view

__________________________________________________
"He who gets the best players usually wins" - Bobby Bowden

by Russ on Nov 11, 2011 7:02 AM EST up reply actions

I'm Surprised More People Don't Use the Knuckleball

It seems to be a desperation move by folks like Dickey. If you have a 95 mile per hour fastball, you’ll use that rather than learn the knuckleball.

But it seems to me that the reason for all the arm injuries is that to throw nasty sliders, curves, etc. you really have to twist that arm. Knuckleballers can throw more games, more innings, and last more years.

Just imagine a knuckleballer with a 95 mph fastball. He could pitch eight innings with the knuckler and occasional fastball or slider, then morph into a fireballer in the 9th and close for himself.

by WT Economist on Nov 11, 2011 7:42 AM EST reply actions

It's just really hard.

I heard someone in an interivew ask Dickey that same question, and his answer was basically just that learning to throw a knuckleball with any effectiveness (movement + reasonable accuracy) is a very hard thing to do and takes more time to learn than you think, and maybe more importantly it would just mess with the mechanics of your typical 95 mph fastballer.

by CJ_Scudworth on Nov 11, 2011 9:52 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

To add

he also said something like switching back and forth between knuckleball and normal pitches is extremely hard because you would loos the feel for the knuckleball. Basically, it’s a hell of a lot harder than it looks with a hell of a lot of nuances.

Save Jenrry Mejia!

by Ogre39666 on Nov 11, 2011 10:34 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

It also might not be as effective as one thinks because the pitcher would likely be telegraphing his pitches

If you have the capability of throwing a 95 MPH fastball, in order to not totally fuck up your knuckleball, you’re going to slow down your arm. If you’re slowing down your arm, the batter knows to sit on whatever is coming. If you speed up your arm to get that max velocity, the batter knows something fast is coming.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!" Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 458 posts (08/24/11)
3rd Place- 2011 AAOP Contest

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Nov 11, 2011 1:00 PM EST up reply actions

Partly the same reason there aren't many sidearmers.

Like you said, it’s really a desperation move – most guys who learn it do so because they’ve got nothing left to lose by trying it because they can’t continue as a normal pitcher. Throw in the fact that there’s so few people who can teach it, and that really limits the potential pool.

"And that's why anybody who invested with Lenny Dykstra should really call that number. Lawyers are standing by."

by BobbyV_Incognito on Nov 11, 2011 10:37 AM EST up reply actions