Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Unlike almost every other pitch in baseball, the knuckleball's erratic trajectory has often required teams to use dedicated catchers, often using specialized mitts, to field the deliveries. Clint Courtney used a specially constructed catcher's mitt, about 50% larger than the conventional mitts used at the time, to catch knuckleballer Hoyt ...
A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow.
In baseball, an off-speed pitch is a pitch thrown at a slower speed than a fastball. Breaking balls and changeups are the two most common types of off-speed pitches. Very slow pitches which require the batter to provide most of the power on contact through bat speed are known as "junk" and include the knuckleball and the Eephus pitch, a sort of extreme changeup. [1]
The brothers were the sons of a coal miner [10] who had pitched semi-pro baseball and learned to throw a knuckleball from another coal miner. He taught the boys the pitch in the backyard. In addition, Phil played American Legion Baseball. [11] Niekro signed with the Milwaukee Braves in 1959 for $250 (equivalent to $2,613 in 2023). [12]
The current Major League Baseball world features only one knuckleball pitcher. Matt Waldron debuted last year and has performed well as a starter for the San Diego Padres.
Baseball pitches aren’t living creatures; they don’t have feathers. They do fly, though, and to an incurious or uninitiated observer, their flights and behaviors could blend together.
This is a category of baseball pitchers that are notable for pitching the knuckleball or who made it to professional baseball based on their ability to throw a knuckleball. Individuals who were not primarily pitchers during their professional baseball career are excluded.
Timothy Stephen Wakefield (August 2, 1966 – October 1, 2023) was an American professional baseball knuckleball pitcher.Wakefield began his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-year tenure with the Boston Red Sox, from 1995 until his retirement in 2012 as the longest-serving player on the team, earning a total of $55 million. [1]