E60: The RA Dickey Story

Mets' knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey sits down with Jeremy Schaap to discuss the sexual abuse Dickey endured as a child. Watch more videos like this at www.espnamerica.com

[@drums4metal]

Other people might have committed suicide for what he has been through, but he came back and became the first Knuckleball pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in 2012. This guy is a warrior, lots of respect for him.

[@jjammmees]

Tell me one of those other comments.

[@DONTTAKEMYPIE123]

never knew anything about his life's story before this. respect to him

[@marchveris]

It's hard not to become a fan of R.A. Dickey after watching this. His book was so inspirational, I got my old man a translated version so he could read it.

[@Iridescence091]

A truly inspiring story; it's an amazing thing where you end up if you just put faith in who you are. Lotta respect for R.A. Dickey.

[@jonathanjaycheng]

"It's been a journey thats been up and down and sideways, but at the end of the day I really have the hope it will end up at the right place - like a well thrown knuckleball." - R.A. Dickey Welcome to Toronto!

[@brandonrosenblatt6578]

I wonder how good R.A.'s career would've been if he discovered his knuckleball in his 20's

[@dallasspencer7445]

His arm would've been shot

[@nemesiomartin1135]

+Dallas Spencer he doesn't have a ucl how would it be shot

[@not_your_guy_lmao]

+Dallas Spencer It all came to a pivotal injury which made a hard thrower to a knuckleballer

[@julezmathieu9110]

Dallas Spencer your dumb the knuckle puts almost no stress on the arm as said by docters

[@palletbitch]

And he can throw the knuckleball pretty hard for being a pitcher unlike wakefield who had to be a knuckleball pitcher

[@amandakh8836]

he is so brave for telling his story. It is especially hard for men just to talk about being abused. many fall into drug addiction and other problems as they try to cope. I have mad respect for him for sharing publicly.

[@coproductions9378]

Only God can Bring people Out of ANY Darkness, Bless you sir.....Thank you for your Strength and Unwavering expression of God.

[@deanmoriarty5510]

God helped but he brought himself out of it. Its not up to God, its up to yourself on whether you pick yourself up or not. Dont say something like that

[@matthewkelly7262]

Good analogy on the knuckleball being like life. :)

[@niceguy171979]

people who was raped totally mess up their life it is hard to get back in track well done for Dickey and he have a great knuckleball bytheway

[@elizabethmuratore9865]

After watching Knuckleball, I REALLY wished that R.A. Dickey was still a Met. He and Wright were the heart and soul of this team during his tenure on the Mets. Even though it was inevitable, I was still heartbroken when he was traded. Please come back Dickey! You will always have a place in the hearts of Mets fans!

[@yodahaber1075]

It's a pity that people who are victimized often feel it reflects poorly on who they are as people.

[@jenniferk.pessagno9692]

Yoda Haber Unfortunately, it's a reality because we blame ourselves what was done to us. I'm an adult survivor of sexual abuse & to know a man has shared his story like this is truly AMAZING! As for the uneducated assholes, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU to make such IGNORANT comments when you know NOTHING at all what any of us have been through!!!! I'm 41 & I finally began my healing when I was 39! Do you know what Welfare does to people like us who have kids? THEY TAKE THEM AWAY FROM US & DEGRADE US, MAKING US FEEL WORSE! My own father sexually abused me for TWO years & my mother NEVER knew because I was PETRIFIED to tell her so I waited until I began Junior High School & that's when I told my guidance counselor...I lived in TX where they did NOTHING to help my mom, my younger brother, and me to get counseling so my mom got pissed off & we left!!!

[@danielplainview926]

Much respect to RA. Enduring traumatic experiences while a child, ups and downs of a baseball player, and through therapy, hard work, he has overcome many obstacles. Some demons never leave you, but he keeps going !!

[@sageof6paths1]

I believe no other man in baseball deserves a world series ring more than this man. RA welcome to Toronto, I think the whole country of Canada will be behind you!!

[@RandomAssist]

R.A. is my baseball hero. Being a Mets fan, I am not only thrilled by his performances on the mound, but inspired by how one can come from the darkest depths to become, well, an All-Star!

[@bufalosabresrock4444]

this was a lot more deep then i thought it would be

[@Spoocecow]

Unbelievable courage to speak/write about such painful things so candidly, in a field so focused on machismo. What a fantastic human.

[@TennisProNB]

My favorite player in my lifetime!!! You the man R.A.

[@chrisjoseph7761]

Dickey was my favorite pitcher from since he was with the Texas rangers, go dickey, your awesomely amazing

[@rickwpaperworkmakeschildsu4655]

A very nice human being! Proof that good things can come to those who do not give up!

[@Sh3llShockGaming]

Damn. Kudos to him for sticking with it.

[@mrtnite9780]

The way the ball swings for a bowler in cricket is laregely due to the weather conditions at the time. Overcast weather & mild temperatures tend to generate more swing than sunny, rainy, or night games. I would imagine a knuckleball flight path would also be affected by weather too.

[@5794226]

So sad I feel so lucky and I see how hard it is to have this happen to u this touched me R.A. God Bless U And All U Went Thro =•-

[@stevetrivago]

Just saw a new news broadcast about RA’s purpose.. that brought me here in tears

[@Dansby_lifts]

this needs to become a movie

[@ge009]

Everyone should read his book!

[@blainewheeler6040]

great story writing an essay containing adversity and overcoming it..he is a true example of doing so

[@TIMMIAY]

Even more respect to this man. GO RA! 2012 CY young!

[@sportsfan4life0987]

he did the first back to back 1 hitters in 76 years

[@NoodlesSF]

An amazing and inspiring story. I highly recommend R.A.'s book - it's a very compelling read.

[@jamesmurray5239]

That was heart breaking to say the least but what a great guy R.A. seems to be. I'm so happy that we have a guy like him potentially headed to Toronto. I can't wait!

[@dsfersa2658]

very tragic, I have to hand it to him for overcoming such a terrible and tragic childhood. He is truly an inspiration.

[@BirdGang6]

“I don’t think I would want to tell him anything, I think I just would have wanted to hold him” Fucking A I am sobbing right now. I was lucky enough to come from 2 amazing parents but they were both sexually assaulted when they were kids and this story just makes me think of my Dad and what he went through as a kid.

[@andrewtabbert5899]

This is so sad how could anyone say anything like what they aer saying

[@braxtonlombardi7185]

I read his book "throwing strikes" and its a really good book

[@victory01]

AMEN! I am satisfied to say that I lived to see the day a Toronto team has rostered a player at the top of his league. The fact that this man is an amazing human being is icing on the cake.

[@joshcohen2002]

Unbelievable no child should ever need this. I hope those two teens can live with what they did in depression you don’t do that to somebody. Respect RA✊️

[@jonwhick3073]

Holding that in for 25 years must of been so hard

[@BrentJ277]

Gleeson630: that is a crass way of looking at things.. I have a brother in Christ at my church that was sexually abused at about the same age by an uncle and as a result he's an emotional wreck. My sincerest prayers go out for anyone who experiences sh!t like what Dickey and my friend from church went through..

[@laxplaya1027]

Y'all are both in my prayers.

[@AKABoondock19]

This guy is inspirational on so many levels.

[@Alan27241]

His story is very inspirational nd so sad i felt bad for that poor 8 year old R A Dickey :c

[@callmeibsking7615]

kudos to this dude, seriously. Hes a fighter.

[@killianoconnell3379]

Respect. He had to wait so long.

[@oaklandathletics707]

New York Mets ace R.A. Dickey says Oakland A's reliever Grant Balfour kept him from drowning in 2007.

[@rrandykle]

Congrats RA, Cy Young 2012.! Inspirational .

[@dave1927p]

I've never been this excited to be a toronto fan before!

[@tostare]

This is kind of silly but i feel a connection with RA - i just started playing softball in the UK and one of my teammates commented that i looked like him (i do). Since then i looked him up and learnt about the whole knuckleball thing and just have a real strong affection for the guy. I really respect him for opening up about this very difficult subject in public.

[@sergiozavaleta4521]

don't read the comments.

[@ghostnight845]

Sup 4 years later people are still sick and disgusting.

[@sherrygenehortencia5252]

man i respect the guy and he! fight

[@ronniebishop2496]

Why do they throw it every pitch?

[@wheelinthesky300]

For a Knuckler, life begins at 35.

[@matthewgomel21199]

This man is incredibly courageous

[@nicksantoianni5077]

Props to you Robert, that's a heck of a story man, were all behind you, now get down here in Canada and strike out some yanks and sox!!

[@Bluecomet489]

volume is too low

[@the72u7h4]

Mad respect

[@thinkingofHim.]

You know what the sad thing is, if dickey wasn't a cy young contender espn wouldn't even of cared about his story

[@JBizzDroid]

Can't wait to see this guy in a Blue Jays Uni! Quality player, and a quality person. He embodies what the Toronto Blue Jays are about. I saw a bunch of articles bad mouthing him and saying how selfish he is and the examples they were giving i honestly couldn't tell if they were being sarcastic.

[@shujinkhaine]

Anne is an amazing woman

[@evandickson19]

Well I just learnt that 😥😢😓⚾️🇺🇸🇨🇦

[@samcunningham1839]

What did he say

[@tcmturner]

R.A. Dickey's story is so courageous. This is a risk taken by a prominent social figure wrapped up in the hyper machismo culture of American sports. To admit that he was sexually assaulted, and that he was scarred by that experience--in an arena where individuals and the media itself is quick to quip that boys who are molested should feel grateful toward their female assaulter for the abuse they suffered--is brave and a great service to other victims.

[@tonydean44]

gained tons of respect for RA dickey from watching this video, go RA!

[@dguillen7474]

I'm a Dbacks fan thru & thru, but I'll always root for Dickey. Great guy with a nasty knuckler. Its terrible what's happened to him, & I wish him nothing but continued success!

[@johnlennon1021]

Apparently, several sources say that Dickey's knuckleball is useless in a dome like Toronto.

[@williamcohen2473]

Go jays!

[@christianvillegas2179]

Did anybody else notice the 10:58

[@Tmillea]

What

[@stevenshaw3407]

😂😂

[@TheVzkid]

He´s gonna do it! He´s really gonna do it! Dickey for Cy Young 2012!

[@johnlennon1021]

I'm originally from Ontario, Canada. My cousin plays on the Astros. So, that's why I have an Astros logo to support him.

[@markus122piesuckers]

@FloodedZombie Wow thats rough and brave to admit it, you've gone through a lot you should talk to someone about it

[@r.a.dickey2530]

Im there for you man

[@MotheFo16]

if only they made this e60 after this season

[@Sky-ep9dw]

Hello

[@BONNOTHETERMINATOR]

2012 NL Cy Young : R.A. Dickey

[@timothywilliams1359]

For every multi-millionaire MLB player, there are 100 minor leaguers and semi-pro players just scraping by, sacrificing a lot of family life, missing children's birthdays, always on the road, constantly battling health and rehab and fatigue.

[@aidanimpola589]

He needs to teach someone

[@jonathanwashington7510]

Yep

[@dave1927p]

Holy fuck. I hope no idea about this until him. He's really gained my respect for this.

[@thebarkingdog07]

Man I don't know how to feel. Given his past situations, you'd think he'd stay close and faithful to the one who was there by his side throughout everything. Guess not.

[@TheJLJuke]

whos your cousin?

[@Bluecomet489]

11:30 i have that same shirt

[@TheZacstewart13]

A great man! That's all he is!

[@eric7421]

I know, I'm a Mets fan and I miss him as our player. But I thank Blue-Jay for offering the money he deserved while Mets could not afford.

[@Mulakataan]

Welcome to the Blue Jays R.A!!!!

[@mattware3441]

FEELS

[@KardiFan2000]

Taking advantage of someone when they're 8 is abuse, not "fantasy".

[@trollingwithsquaids1]

My Hero

[@privateguy123]

RA Dickey is gonna get this World Series! lets go jays!!

[@doug.b6421]

That's sad

[@loquaciouspanda13]

His future was all in the past?

[@KINGVance1]

love e:60

[@bruce4139]

i feel bad for dickey

[@gklz32]

This just shows that God has a plan for everyone

[@KJT922010T]

14-3 2.82 ERA 153 SO so far, Cy Young I think so!

[@robertb761]

We will welcome him in Toronto to use him as a foundation to bring a World Series Championship here again.

[@makenziegrubb3211]

I what he went trow it happend to Me

[@campbellmaccampbell]

I love Dickey on any team but would love to see my Jays get him

[@RealDoomsie]

7:28, lmfao that kid got smacked by the ball when diving for it!

[@donlewis38]

i respect u a lot dickey im trying to become a knuckler just like you. i am only 14 but i will perfect it sooner or later

[@clay4444]

Genuinely curious if you learned how to throw a knuckleball?

[@theycallmezollo15]

Definitely a Cy Young award candidate for the N.L.