RA Dickey in "The Perfect Knuckleball Inning"

[@AlexMaione07041863]

There's something laughably refreshing watching professional baseball players just completely wiff at pitches going 55-75 mph. It's great stuff.

[@gastondeveaux3783]

The reaction of the last batter is priceless

[@StyrofoamCancer]

you can swear on the internet

[@stevefowler2112]

The best knuckleball story I ever heard was told by Johnny Bench. He said Sparky came to him one year and said hey we are thinking about picking up Phil Niekro, what do you think of that? Johnny said he replied "Well you better get his catcher too".

[@dubbled7286]

2:00 umpire missed a clear strike, because the knuckler was dancing around so much

[@Thebanana222]

Yessir

[@martinhodell8465]

some umps wont call a strike when the catcher drops it. Doesn't make it right- but just the way it is.

[@Johnnylowfive]

As a catcher through college I can vouch for this, it happened more than once but the one I clearly recall was supposed to be up and away heat and he threw a knee high curve that caught "all" the plate but due to where I was setup I caught it kinda like a basket catch and "Blue" said If it's a strike the catcher won't have to "look so awkward. Freshman year my father got me a new mitt, my last one was his originally and felt like it was part of my body, the new mitt didn't take long to break in but I would occasionally catch one in the "palm" area of the glove and they would bounce out (especially when framing an inside pitch) and found that telling the ump I had a new mitt after the 2nd drop made him pay better attention. With knuckleballs it's nuts! I only caught a couple mediocre guys that could throw it but even the best guy was still only really getting movement on 20% or less of there throws. Other wobbled but were clobbered because they didn't deviate far enough off their "trajectory" but I guarantee catching RA would have felt like the laws of physics had disappeared. It's amazing that balls and strikes are still done by eye.

[@Rilo4466]

Funny how his slowest pitch ever thrown is still faster than my fastball

[@grapefruitsurfs3617]

Well, How old are you?

[@treverp4938]

Rilo4466 Better question is how does he get his Knuckleball to 80mph? Mines probably at like 30 haha

+Grapefruitsurfs.. I asked a guy at Citizen's Bank Park In Philly who mans the Speed Pitch attraction what most men throw on Average and he said the average was in the 50's.. He said he had a normal guy hit 101 one time which is pretty wild and the guy said he only played Baseball up until Highschool.

[@TheZombieeeeeee]

wtf 101 from a normal guy since hs baseball?? thats really hard to believe but ive seen crazier shit

TheZombieeeeeee .. they hit was 6-6 talk and lanky.. but you have to remember, this guy has run that stand since the old vet and 101 is the highest he has ever seen.. Also, the guy probably threw it as hard as he could.. I bet Chapman could reach 110 if he gave it his all, but that's pointless and dangerous for your arm. My buddy from College was similar. He was 6-7 and he could throw in the 100s but he was a terrible pitcher with no command. It's not that hard to believe. I hit 90 on my Fastball when I was 18 but I just lost interest in playing and I also had bad command.

[@ferrari884]

My stepdad was a college pitcher but could throw a mean knuckleball. I remember I was a young (13-14) cocky catcher who had never caught a knuckleball before and told him to throw me his best and how I was good enough to handle his best knuckleball straight away. I've never seen a ball move or dance like that. His first pitch looked almost like it was floating in the air and moving slightly and unpredictably in each direction. I was so amazed at how the ball was moving that I lost concentration and the pitch bounced off the top of my glove and hit me in the face. Every pitch after that I caught, but the unpredictability and the "floating" movement that that ball made still give me chills. You know where a 4 seam or 2 seam will end up over the plate, you know where a curve or slider will eventually end up... but you'd better be on your toes with that knuckleball because there is no telling where it will end up.

[@bak1386]

Pitching is the most fascinating part of baseball to me. Especially with an art like throwing knuckleballs. It's all such a genius display of understanding physics and technique. I love that super slow knuckle he throws. It's probably a total mind fuck when your at the plate waiting for the pitch to be like in the high 80s or 90s and it's just so slow. That's cool, super smart to mix something like that into your arsenal

[@weixianng]

As if a 80+ Mph Knuckleball wasn't enough, he has a Knuckleball change-up as well at 57mph... Crazy

[@jerrygillis5064]

That last pitch was utterly sick!

[@Im2gd4ux]

guy was unbelievable as a met and what we got for him was insane.forever a fan favorite

[@russs7574]

Keep in mind that he's doing this against the Pirates, as opposed to a major league team.

[@michaelalbertson7457]

The most starts he could get against Pittsburgh in a season is 6. Keep in mind that he did it pretty much all season.

[@Thebanana222]

The last one was perfect👍

[@shanezenmusic]

Baseball is better with knuckleballers!

[@nilssonakerlund2852]

I wholeheartedly agree. Fastballs are so boring.

[@tiffinhappy9744]

Love watching knuckleball pitchers.

[@robjontay5052]

How do you catch a knuckleball? Wait till it stops rolling and go pick it up! Thanks to Bob Ueker for that one.

[@RackwitzG]

How do you hit a knuckle ball? You don't. Thank me for that one. ;)

[@trevonburtch4014]

The date is wrong. They don't have regular season games in the middle of October.

[@KnuckleballAlley]

Excellent catch Trevon! I'll go back in my RArchives and get the correct date. I will make the change on the video sometime tomorrow. Well done, young man.

[@barrettus]

Sept 14 2010 in case you were wondering. He pitched the complete game (score 9-1) and only got 1 other strike out.

[@johnnylightning09]

Barrettus jn

[@marklandreth2197]

The 2nd pitch to Snyder 2:03 was very close to a strike - watch Dickey's reaction - he keeps waiting for a strike call.

[@_michael_g]

Mark Landreth i thought it was a strike too

[@shannonsmith5765]

Mark Landreth catchers fualt

[@richardmiller3701]

An ump once told my son, a pitcher, that he rarely calls strikes when the catcher doesn't catch the ball. If you have a bad catcher, you could be in for a long day.

[@martinhodell8465]

@@richardmiller3701 yup. As a former catcher I always knew when I was costing the pitcher called strikes...

[@richardmiller3701]

@@martinhodell8465 My son once had 8 strikeouts in an inning. His catcher couldn't catch a ball or stop a ball. 5 swinging strike 3s that went to the backstop. This was in a high school varsity game. My son ended up having to quit baseball because he wore out his shoulder - and he had a college scholarship to play.

[@poindextertunes]

How can you not like this guy 😂

[@TitanTed]

Imagine the swearing as these batters are heading back to the dugout.

[@tomservo5347]

No MLB knuckleball pitchers currently. What a shame. The great Hoyt Wilhelm always said that throwing a knuckleball is a gift you're born with as he didn't teach it to anyone except those he felt had the knack for it. Learning it is one thing, consistently getting one in the general strike zone is the difficult part with so many variables. I don't think modern managers have the patience for it.

[@joshsutton6648]

My fastball is around 75, which is okay for a freshman. But I can't imagine throwing a knuckle ball of that speed.

[@dabcandyman4583]

This is An alias I am 11 and I can throw 70

[@vinnielandy219]

Dab Candy man nice joke

[@matthewmcpeek7324]

This Is An Alias so you're probably a sophomore right now. 75 is good for a freshman, just make sure you don't go crazy about the gun, and instead get to the point where you can hit your spots. If you've got a good changeup that you can throw from 65 to 68 miles per hour, and maybe a movement pitch that you can throw for a strike, you will be a good Varsity pitcher. Just don't think that a killer fastball is all you need. Maybe in high school you can live that way, but just make sure you know when to throw a changeup

[@taylorjudge4506]

the trick to being a good knuckle ball pitcher is knowing when your pitch is on if its isn't it gonna get crushed

[@TomandAmyinthePI]

that 3rd strikeout pitch was a change up not a nuckler

[@GP-yc2it]

Pretty sure the batter said "Wow." in mid swing during the last pitch. Awesome!

[@topmech71]

Even the catcher has problems catching that thing sometimes...

[@magicoddeffect]

Many knuckleball pitchers have had specific catcher counterparts on their team's roster just for them.

[@Gk2003m]

And he had a fastball. Wasn’t the fastest fastball in history, but it was 84+ and had huge movement side to side. The guy was nearly unhittable that year

[@joyceocone4535]

I am wondering why pitchers stopped throwing the knuckleball?

[@manawesomeharris2829]

I was about to die when he said 90% of the time I throw knuckle balls and then the commentator says there's a fastball

[@billsiver4582]

guy was a class act was is the minors for many years but hung in there that hard knuckler was nasty if anybody hasn't you should read his book great read.

[@jefftig811]

Yes! Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball. Fantastic

[@bryankautz826]

DAMN!! Never understood why more pitchers didn't or couldn't learn this, is it that harder to learn than a curve/slider/fastball etc?

[@jmulchino]

Bryan Kautz Dicky’s book is interesting. (I read the entire book in the bookstore! Ha!) It is a long and difficult road to learn it but more importantly to perfect it. This explains why there are so few k-ballers in MLB.

[@bryankautz826]

Jim Mulchinock thanks, kinda what I was thinking, "if it was easy everyone would do it!!LOL) Being in Toronto I got to see a lot of him during his yrs here and was always impressed we had a rare k baller on our team. Just personally depressing that his slowest knuckler is still faster than my best attempt at a 'Fastball"!! Ps Thanks for the tip on the book, if I can still find a brick & mortar bookstore I'll go in and read it (sounds like it's not too long if you can read the whole thing in the store!!!Lol definitely not war & peace!!) 😂👍

[@TTSetters]

It's VERY easy in theory. The grip, the position, everything is great....until you get to the release and that's when things just make you so very mad and have you saying "STOP SPINNING BALL DAMMIT". It's such a touchy feely pitch and how you sort of push the ball, your wrist and everything has to be *just* right. Biggest problem for most/all is the release. All the fingers / thumb have to release and in the right area or one catches a seam, cover and it starts spinning. Velocity is important too, as it's not a fast pitch but around 50-75ish which is slow compared to a fastball, but fast enough to break.

[@bryankautz826]

N G thanks, always knew about the "pushing" with the fingers part, I'm not a pitcher myself but would always try it when playing catch with friends just to see if I could pull it off but they always managed to catch it so I guess I didn't fool them!LOL Still impressed that his slowest knuckler is faster than my best attempt at a "fastball"!!!😂

[@mrmacross]

In general, it's hard to pitch at an All-Star level throwing primarily knuckleballs. RA Dickey had one Cy Young season, but that's also his lone All-Star appearance. Wakefield had one All-Star season. If you have the ability to throw hard, change speeds, and generate a ton of spin, electing to throw a knuckleball is almost a waste of your ability and would probably worsen your effectiveness. So if you're a top pitching prospect and you're trying to get into the big leagues, you probably won't be working on your knuckleball because scouts are looking for future franchise players, and a knuckleballer isn't going to be that guy. On the other hand, if you've been drafted and your career isn't panning out, you might want to consider the knuckleball to prolong your career. That's what Wakefield and Dickey both did, as Wakefield was drafted as a first baseman and Dickey didn't pick up the knuckleball until his 30s. But like any pitch, the knuckleball is hard to master. If you're just learning it for the first time well into your twenties or later, you may not have the time to master it before organizations cut you loose.

[@tenfourproductionsllc]

For whatever reason, his knuckleball just didn't work in Toronto. And never injured once he developed it.

[@theredman2783]

Does it REALLY count if you do it against the Pie Rats?

[@josephtattum6365]

I'm a Phillies fan, and I hated facing Dickey so much.

[@chrs20]

Did anyone else seem to notice that Chris Snyder got four strikes on the last at bat or is it just me. I wonder how many times that has happened

[@NJ187]

chris gipson No he didn't. The 2nd pitch was called a ball, though it could have went either way.

[@michaelalbertson7457]

What you thought was the 3rd strike, was actually a foul ball on strike 2, you can see the ump handing a ball to the catcher.

[@sananto6896]

Billy Martin would stand far up at the plate trying to hit knuckle ball before it broke. But he still missed it..lol.

[@dtom1145]

The knuckleball is pure evil.

[@bxgthomas1729]

Wish the mets kept him

[@MetFanMac]

I love R.A. on a personal level, but the trade netted the Mets both d'Arnaud and Syndergaard while his career fizzled out so I'd say we came up on top.

[@stlgsxr]

Was he pitching from 1st inning till now? Because its 9-0, seems like the knuckle ball only worked one inning haha.

[@KnuckleballAlley]

Terry, thank you for commenting. However, you are mistaken. The Mets were WINNING 9-0 at this point in the game.

[@stlgsxr]

KnuckleballAlley ah crap! I'm getting to old I misread the wrong teams score haha, well then go dickey!!

[@tubenachos]

Is it painful to throw a knuckle?

[@Iyzdor]

tubenachos No. your hands may have a Calais phase but it is probably the least painful throw in the books for your arm a shoulder. Knuckleball pictures can generally play for 5 to 6 years longer than a fastball pitcher.

[@christiandenton2174]

Calais??? Lol its callous man.

[@dustinstephens8659]

Why isnt the batter out at 2:40? Foul tip into the glove is an out?

[@Hardballleather]

Wasn't the third strike it was 1-1

[@dustinstephens8659]

@@Hardballleather the 1-1 pitch is at 2:32

[@michaelalbertson7457]

@@dustinstephens8659 The batter fouled off the pitch to the 3rd base side on a 1-2 count. The batter looked that way. No strikeout then. You can see the ump give a ball to the catcher after that to throw to the pitcher.

[@ChairmanMeow1]

How are you supposed to hit that

[@robjontay5052]

Cant be from oct. 2010....season was over....

[@mlbjoey9647]

Same date just in September

[@matthewmcpeek7324]

Perfect inning is three pitches.

[@bosshadowrock]

Funny that they call him "blue collar." He went to a fancy prep school and has a college degree, unlike the other guys on the team!

[@roygbiv3305]

he has iron claws.

[@Krakaet]

Wouldn't ya love to take a look at a vintage R.A. Dickey ball? I bet there are some serious fingernail grooves in there.

[@jaystarr6571]

3:00 This looks more like a curve ball than a knuckler to me...But I'm no expert.

[@patrickberry7038]

it looks like it but when you watch it in slow mo you can tell that theres no spin on the ball

[@jaystarr6571]

Patrick Berry Ah...I didn't think of that. Good point.

[@BloodoperaBlackvomit]

Look at his fingers, his NAILS are digging into the ball. Sure fire way to know its a knuckler.

[@TacoStacks]

Fake Bunt, Hit a dinger

[@jackhammer111]

Dickey was a mediocre pitcher that had one great season. 120 wins, 118 losses career 4.04 ERA. He also embarrassingly once gave up 6 home runs in a single outing tying him for the most in MLB history and putting him second in all-time MLB history by giving up 6 HRs in the second-fewest innings. 6 in 3 1/3 innings. 2 in the first inning, 1 in the second then 3 more in the 4th before they put him out of his misery and mercifully took him out of the game. Can you imagine walking back to the dugout in front of a home crowd after doing that? 🤣🤣

[@louiegallo1289]

The perfect knuckleball inning.... against one of the worst teams in MLB history... No, seriously... The 2010 Pirates had one of the worst season records in MLB history... They went 57-105.

[@jmulchino]

Nom de Plume Not doubting your post, but if you go back and watch clips of Dicky vs top teams (esp as a Met) you will see he was simply remarkable. It’s almost like watching Bobby Orr highlight reels and he’s waltzing through expansion teams like St. Louis who at the time stunk. But he was also a powerhouse against the Habs; just wasn’t as glaring.

[@michaelalbertson7457]

I don't call that a perfect knuckleball inning. 9 knuckle balls for strikes, 3 up, all strikeout outs. More perfect, no batter hits the ball foul.

[@actsismmljcorrectlyobeyed6190]

1:29 Punk go sit down before you get deported😲!

[@knpstrr]

Just making them look silly

[@jackhammer111]

what's perfect about this inning? I saw Dennis Eckersley pitch the 9th inning in save situations and strike out the side without throwing more than one ball against any batter many times in Oakland because you don't throw a strike with an 0-2 count. If you strike someone out in 3 pitches the third one should be a swinging strike on a ball out of the strike zone. Dickey was a mediocre pitcher that had one great season. 120 wins, 118 losses career 4.04 ERA. He also embarrasingly once gave up 6 home runs in a single outing tying him for the most in MLB history and putting him second all time in giving up 6 HRs in the fewest innings. 6 in 3 1/3 innings. 2 in the first inning, 1 in the second then back to back to back HR's with 1 out in the 4th before they put him out of his misery and sit him down. 🤣🤣

[@AndrewDRoyappa]

How is this "the perfect inning"? OK, no basreunners, not like that's never happened. Struck out the side, ok. What am I missing? Was expecting a nine pitch inning.

[@woodworkaf]

get mad.

[@drums4metal]

A 9 pitch inning in which a pitcher strikes out the side is called an Immaculate inning (you can check Pedro Martinez's against the Seattle Mariners). Perfect inning means no runners allowed by hit, base on balls or wild pitch regardless of strikeouts. A perfect game is basically having 9 innings like this, so 27 batters, 27 outs, no hits, no bases on balls, no errors.

[@reynoldsohoulihan]

Yo mama,

[@ilikewaffles889]

Did you see the movement on the balls? That's called perfection ;-)

[@jjohnson1667]

Maybe if you learn to read the title says "The perfect KNUCKLEBALL inning".

[@friedrice2912]

I dont care.. that guy in glasses is creepy AF