What Is A Knuckleball?
Unlike most pitches, the knuckleball is a pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight. This lack of spin produces an erratic and unpredictable trajectory as the pitch travels from the pitcher’s hand to the plate. If it is thrown with great skill, the ball actually dips and dives, and sometimes “vibrates” from side-to-side. This makes the pitch difficult to hit, but also difficult for the pitcher to control. Even the best knuckleball pitchers usually have a lot of wild pitches and past balls on their stat sheet.
The First Knuckleball Pitcher
No one knows for sure who first threw the pitch. The best evidence supports the claim that Eddie Cicotte was the first knuckleball pitcher. Cicotte first used the pitch while in the Minor Leagues in 1906, mastered it while in the the majors, and rode the pitch to 208 career victories. Eddie probably would have made the Hall of Fame if he hadn’t been kicked out of baseball for his participation in the 1919 Black Sox Gambling Scandal.
The Best Knuckleball Pitchers in History
The most famous and best knuckleball pitchers in history were brothers Phil Niekro and Joe Niekro. The Niekros mastered the pitch at a very young age, and they both threw it almost exclusively throughout their entire careers. Phil won 318 games during his career, made five all star teams and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997. Little Brother Joe Niekro was almost as good: he won 221 games and finished as high as second in Cy Young Award voting.
Another legendary knuckleball pitcher was the great Hoyt Wilhelm. Wilhelm was a five time All Star relief pitcher who saved 227 games and won another 143 out of the bullpen. Wilhelm won induction to the Hall of Fame in 1985. Along with Ciccotte, the Neikro brothers, and current Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, Wilhelm is one of the five best knuckleball pitchers that the game has ever seen.
How to Throw a Knuckleball
The knuckleball was originally thrown by gripping the ball with the knuckles instead of the fingers, hence the name of the pitch. Later pitchers altered the grip by squeezing the ball with the tips of the pointer and middle fingers, and using the thumb for balance. This modified grip can also include digging the fingernails into the surface of the ball. The fingertip grip version of the pitch is used by most current knuckleball pitchers.
Regardless of how the pitch is gripped, the purpose is to avoid the rotational spin that is normally created by the act of throwing a baseball. Without this rotation, the ball's trajectory is significantly affected by the differences between the smooth surface of the ball and the stitching on its seams. The imbalanced drag that results causes the ball to ‘flutter’ on its way to the plate.
Other Essential Things to Know About the Knuckleball
The pitch is very easy on the arm, and therefore, the best knuckleball pitchers have careers of 20 years or more and routinely pitch well into their forties.
Retired Catcher and current broadcaster Tim McCarver claims that Mickey Mantle had one of the best knuckleballs he had ever seen. The Mick never threw it in a game. However, Hall of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs did. The 3,000 hit man used the knuckleball exclusively during his one career pitching appearance. Boggs pitched one inning, gave up one walk, but then sat down the next three batters he faced. He even struck out a batter.
Catcher Jason Varitek of the Boston Red Sox made one of the great statements about the pitch when he said: “You know, catching the knuckleball is like trying to catch a fly with a chopstick.” That about sums up the whole thing.
If you're a baseball fan, here are links to more Baseball Primer articles that explain who invented baseball, the history of spring training, the fastball, the curveball, the screwball, the wild pitch, the designated hitter, baseball uniforms and the ten greatest baseball teams of all time. Enjoy!
