Knuckleball

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Tim Wakefield throwing a knuckleball

The Knuckleball , also Knuckler or Floater , is considered the most exotic pitch (throw) in baseball . It is thrown without any rotation, which makes the trajectory unusually unstable as there is no stabilizing spin . The name is somewhat misleading, because most of the ball with the fingertips rather (English with his knuckles will knuckle ) and then kept herausgeschnippt. Without rotation, the very slow ball (60 mph, about 95 km / h) pushes an air cushion in front of it and changes its flight curve unpredictably ( "the knuckleball dances" ). The flight of the ball is very difficult to controlIn addition to many walks , pitcher also risks a lot of hit by pitch . The catcher has to be very careful when catching the balls.

There are only a few pitchers who throw this ball: John Smoltz , Steve Sparks or Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox . Even RA Dickey was able to revive his career in recent years after learning the Knuckleballs and for the New York Mets played in the Season 2012.

Eri Yoshida , the first woman to play in a Japanese professional league ( Kansai Independent Baseball League , 2009), mainly throws knuckleballs. In 2010 she trained with Wakefield for one day as part of the spring training .

  • laterally

  • from the beginning

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Houston Astros Knuckle Ball ( English ) MLB Advanced Media, LP. July 31, 2009. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  2. ↑ Mike Bauman: Knuckleball a lifestyle for Dickey ( English ) MLB Advanced Media, LP. March 14, 2008. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  3. ↑ a b Ian Browne: Wakefield imparts knuckleball knowledge ( English ) MLB Advanced Media, LP. March 2, 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  4. ↑ Reynolds, Wakefield play catch - Harold Reynolds tries to catch Tim Wakefield's infamous knuckleball ( English , Flash Video) MLB Advanced Media, LP. July 14, 2009. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  5. ↑ Pitcher's Pitch Type Statistics ( English ) www.fangraphs.com. 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  6. ↑ Yoshida learns the knuckleball from Wakefield ( English , Flash Video) MLB Advanced Media, LP. March 2, 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2010.