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At 36, Hoyt Wilhelm’s best years were thought to be behind him. Moreover, his best pitch, the knuckleball, was a fluttery offering that drove catchers nuts, eluded their grasp and created havoc.
Eddie Cicotte is credited as the inventor of the knuckleball. Hoyt Wilhelm won 124 games in relief, the major league record, and was the first pitcher to reach 200 saves and the first to appear in 1,000 games. R. A. Dickey reinvented his career by developing a knuckleball. Phil Niekro is the only knuckleballer to win 300 games. [5]
Wilhelm won 124 games in relief, which is still the major league record as of 2004. [1] [2] [needs update] He was the first pitcher to reach 200 saves, and the first to appear in 1,000 games. Wilhelm was nearly 30 years old when he entered the major leagues, and pitched until he was nearly 50.
The knuckleball does provide some advantages to its practitioners. It does not need to be thrown hard (in fact, throwing too hard may diminish its effectiveness), and is therefore less taxing on the arm. Knuckleball pitchers can throw more innings than other pitchers, and, requiring less time to recover after pitching, can pitch more frequently ...
In today's edition: Rivalry Week recap, Week 13 by the numbers, the MLS Cup Final is set, Liverpool beats City, Giannis stuffs the stat sheet, Baker's Dozen, and more.
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Pitching Ninja tweeted video of an apparent knuckleball that he threw during his scoreless inning for the Reds in 2018. That was his first big-league pitching appearance, and his only one that season.
Cicotte was a starting pitcher and a knuckleball specialist who won 208 games and lost 149 over the course of a 14-year career pitching for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago White Sox. At the time of his lifetime ban, he was considered one of the premier pitchers in the American League.