If a seam is liable to catch a finger at any point as you release the ball, change your grip. On August 5, 1973 at Fulton County Stadium, Niekro no-hit the Padres, walking three while striking out four and becoming the first Atlanta pitcher to throw such a gem. He began his answer to our question with this observation: "There's a stigma attached to the knuckleball" by many in baseball. He and his brother, Joe Niekro, who was born in 1944 and spent 22 years in the majors (67-88) with eight teams, combined for more wins (539) than any other brotherly combination. Good fingernails are important. [20], As of 2019[update], Steven Wright of the Boston Red Sox was considered to be the last active knuckleballer in the MLB; he has since been released from the team. Joe Niekro showing the proper fingertip grip The first and most obvious thing to discuss is that the knuckleball is thrown with the fingertips and fingernails, not the knuckles as the name of the pitch would suggest. Phil Niekro did not reach the majors for good until he was 27. He had just 31 victories by his 30th birthday, and 287 thereafter. He had a presence that just transcended what you encounter every day in the clubhouse, Dickey who won the Cy Young in 2012told the New York Times Tyler Kepner. La maledetta che sfida la fisica", "Noughty Boys: No one hit a free-kick quite like Juninho Pernambucano", "Pele to Zico to Beckham to Ronaldo: Evolution of the Free-Kick Masters", "Mestre de Pirlo, Juninho Pernambucano ensinou italiano a bater falta", "The Top 15 Best Shooters in World Football", "Bonansea: I was always daydreaming of football in class", The (Mostly) Complete List of Knuckleball Pitchers, NPR.org on the Red Sox's re-acquisition of Doug Mirabelli, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Knuckleball&oldid=1137620558, This page was last edited on 5 February 2023, at 16:41. He lost 20 games in both 1977 (against 16 wins) and 79; in the latter year, during which he picked up his 200th win on May 1 against the Pirates, he went 21-20 and became the only pitcher since 1901 to lead the league in both wins and losses. While the Yankees re-signed both Niekro brothers on January 8, 1986, they released Phil at the end of spring training. Mr. Niekro's longevity in a game that can be unforgiving for players who lose their timing, great eyesight, speed and ability to throw as they age is simply remarkable. Phil Niekro threw a pitch that baffled hitters and catchers. Seams are you worst enemy. He logged more than 1,000 innings from 1977 through 1979, when he averaged 19 wins and 19 losses per season. ATLANTA (AP) Phil Niekro threw a pitch that baffled hitters and catchers. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter for all the latest updates. The tricky pitch is the knuckleball, and it is rare in the game today to see the pitch. [10], Coaches have also been seen as a barrier to succeeding with the knuckleball. Hes one of 10 pitchers to attain the dual milestones of 300 wins and 3,000 strikeouts six of them cohorts from That Seventies Group and ranks 16th overall on the all-time list for the former and 11th for the latter. Additionally, Niekro led the NL in WAR in both 1978 (with a career-high 10.0) and 79 (7.4), with three second-place finishes and one fourth-place finish in that span. Ferrell knew knuckleballs: he had the task of being the Washington Senators catcher in 194445, when the Senators had four knuckleball pitchers in their starting rotation. Phil Niekro achieved baseball immortality when he was picked . Teams look for pitchers to throw harder, so teams shift their focus on pitch type and more about pitch speed. that mike marshall season will forever live rent free in my head, Over the 1973-74 seasons, Mike Marshall pitched a total of 378 1/3 innings without making a single start. If you have any question, please contact me at knuckleballnation@gmail.com, Monday Friday: 10am 9pmSaturday: 10am 4pm, Copyright OceanWP Knuckleball Nation. Yet the Braves would not commit to Niekro as a starter. It does not need to be thrown hard (in fact, throwing too hard may diminish its effectiveness), and is therefore less taxing on the arm. Hoyt Wilhelm, Phil Niekro, and Jesse Haines, three pitchers who primarily relied on the knuckleball, have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Niekro never got another shot at the postseason. Two later pitchers, Jesse Haines and Freddie Fitzsimmons, were sometimes characterized as knuckleball pitchers even by their contemporaries, but in their cases it again refers to a harder-thrown, curving pitch that would probably not be called a knuckleball today. By continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy. [2] Other accounts attribute the pitch's creation to Charles H. Druery, a pitcher in the Blue Ridge League. My goal is to visit every MLB ballpark and I'm halfway there! All three are in the Hall of Fame. A pitch thrown completely without spin is less desirable, however, than one with a very slight spin. That would be eerie, he wrote. Although he may have never looked or pitched like a prototypical major league pitcher, he consistently fooled hitters throughout his career enroute to 318 pitching wins with his very hard to hit knuckleball. Because the pitch travels at 60 mph to maybe 80 mph, throwing that "softly" puts far less stress on an arm than throwing 90 mph or above. The further they get from the field, the stronger their sense of mortality. in Political Science from Binghamton University and his J.D. When you feel the ball "tick" off of your fingertips, you have probably thrown a good knuckleball. Died: Saturday, December 26, 2020 ( Who else died on December. This sports news got our attention this week: The Baltimore Orioles have hired Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro to teach three of the team's minor league pitchers how to throw the knuckleball a pitch that can make even the best hitters look helpless. He had three more years of close-but-no-cigar; Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt cut the line as the lone honorees in 1994 and 95, but then the fools in the BBWAA failed to elect anyone in 96, with Niekro receiving 68.3%, Tony Perez 65.7%, and fellow 300-game winner Don Sutton 63.8%, making for the writers first shutout since 1971. The little spin that takes place on the ball creates erratic and unpredictable motion. There are other prominent knuckleball pitchers like Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, who had a very effective knuckler and knuckle curve, and Cy Young Award winning pitcher R. A. Dickey. His younger brother, Joe, also had a long baseball career with an arsenal that included the knuckleball. Throw it hard and trust your grip. One 2007 study offered evidence for this conclusion. Since it developed during a period when the spitball was legal and commonly used, and was similarly surprising in its motion, the knuckleball was sometimes called the "dry spitter". That season kicked off an exceptionally productive stretch for Niekro even as the Braves competitive fortunes began to wane. Fans should not confuse a knuckleball pitch with an Eephus pitch or screwball pitch, however. But the knuckleball carried Niekro to more than 300 wins, earne In 2013, J. P. Arencibia set a Toronto Blue Jays franchise record by allowing four passed balls in the season opener (a 42 loss) while catching for knuckleballer R. A. Dickey. Braves scout Bill Maughn signed the 19-year-old Niekro for a $500 bonus and $275 a month, but the Braves held off on starting his career until the following spring. Keep a stiff wrist during the throwing motion. In the NLCS against the Cardinals, Mother Nature and baseballs rulebook dealt the Braves a cruel blow. The four pitchers in the hall of fame include Phil Niekro, Ted Lyons, Jesse Haines, and Hoyt Wilhelm. All four of these pitchers had a baseball WHIP below 1.35, which shows how effective they were at reducing hits and limiting walks per inning. And take a look at your grip. I didnt know there were knuckleball pitchers in the big leagues, Niekro said a few years ago. I work for three weeks to get my swing down pat and Phil messes it up in one night, said Pete Rose. ", "Will R. A. Dickey's Angry Knuckleball Change The Game? Philip Henry Niekro was born in Blaine, Ohio, and learned the knuckleball from his father, who played for a coal-mining team in eastern Ohio. All rights reserved. With the reduction in stress on your arms, knuckleball pitchers can pitch longer in games. After a fairly successful 1972 (16-12, 3.06 ERA, 5.4 WAR), he nonetheless began the 73 season being used out of the bullpen, due in part to a sore arm and to mismanagement by the Braves, who were awash with a surplus of young starters. https://www.youtube.com/MLBClassicsFollow us elsewhere too:Twitter: https://twitter.com/MLBInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mlb/ \u0026 https://www.instagram.com/mlbvault/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mlbTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/share/user/656Visit our site for all baseball news, stats and scores! Phil Niekro is the seventh member of the Baseball Hall of Fame to die this year. It can resurrect pitchers' careers. Check out the next chapter in a series about knuckleball grips coming soon! But with his 72-year-old father critically ill in a West Virginia hospital, he steeled himself. Niekro, who pitched well into his 40s with a knuckleball that baffled big league hitters for more than two decades, mostly with the Atlanta Braves, has died after a long fight with cancer . The physics of the operation are largely the same. Brother Joe and son John were both enlisted as coaches. The resulting motion of the pitch more closely resembles a curveball, which explains the combination name. and play-by-play data provided by Sports Info Solutions. MORE: The inside story of Phil Niekro's final game with the Braves Niekro served his suspension and returned to the Twins just in time for Minnesota's stretch run. None of them succeeded to the extent that Phil Niekro did. R. A. Dickey argues that, "for most managers, it takes a special manager to be able to really trust it the bad and the good of it. A successful knuckleball shot will move, dip, or wobble in the air unpredictably, making it difficult for the goalkeeper to save. Read More FILE - In this March 29, 2007, file photo, Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro holds a knuckleball at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland. "Very few pitchers make a living throwing the knuckleball," says Sain, "simply because they can't make it work. Or the ball just ends up getting past the catcher allowing any runners on base to advance and possibly score. Phil went to the well three more times in pursuit of the milestone but was tagged for 17 runs in 19.2 innings. This is a difficult task. There will be a period when they will beat the daylights out of you. Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro, famous for signature knuckleball, dies at 81 - ESPN Skip to main content Skip to navigation > ESPN Search You have come to the ESPN Africa edition, for other. Let the ball slip out of your palm, almost as if it were covered in olive oil. The suburban Atlanta resident had a longtime battle with cancer. Mr. Niekros career is a great reminder that we should never judge a book by its cover and that we need to avoid our own unconscious bias about others. [21] Mickey Jannis of the Baltimore Orioles organization also throws the knuckleball, and made his major league debut on June 23, 2021. No major league team has gone out of its way to teach the knuckleball. Thats a record, either surpassing the total from 1972 or tying it, depending upon whether one counts the posthumous induction of Roberto Clemente via a special election in 1973. The object is to put just a little spin on it and let it be nudged around as air flows over the ball's stitches and any little scrapes or abrasions on the leather. It worked so well for young Phil in pickup games with neighborhood kids including John Havlicek, the future N.B.A. That means if they have a game where "the feel" just isn't right, they can get shelled. And if you can throw a ball without any spin at 65-plus miles-per-hour, than youve got a great knuckleball grip. Niekro, fearing that he too would wind up working in a coal mine or a steel mill, begged for another chance, and he had a backer in Birdie Tebbetts, a legendary scout and former manager then serving as the Braves executive vice president. All major league baseball data including pitch type, velocity, batted ball location, Right before we got there, hed be winning 19 or so, but also losing 19. Niekro completed 10 out of 20 starts and finished the year with an 11-9 record and an NL-best 1.87 ERA in 207 innings. Not only did he have incredible success as a pitcher, but since the knuckleball did not exact a toll on his pitching arm like other harder thrown pitches do he was able to be even more valuable, durable and versatile to his teams by pitching on short rest, pitching many complete games, serving as both a starter and a relief pitcher and pitching in the major leagues for an incredible 24 seasons. Yesterday I learned of the unfortunate death of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images The first reason is that throwing a knuckleball is challenging to master and control. So often a victim of lousy run support, he led the league in losses annually from 1977-80, a span during which the Braves averaged 92 losses a year and one that saw the beginning of Bobby Coxs managerial career in 78. If the pitching cant get the feeling right during a game, they wont have an effective outing. by Retrosheet. And get into premium knuckleball shape, mentally and physically, by ordering Fingertips of a Safecracker & Mind of a Zen Buddhist! It actually giggles at you as it goes by, outfielder Rick Monday told Sports Illustrated in 1983. It speculates that the appearance of abrupt shifting may be due to the unpredictability of the changes in direction.[9]. At any one time, only one or two are usually in the major leagues. These guys broke into the Major Leagues and stayed there, enjoying long and fruitful careers. He founded the Futility Infielder website (2001), was a columnist for Baseball Prospectus (2005-2012) and a contributing writer for Sports Illustrated (2012-2018). Great knuckle ball pitchers curl their fingers around to make hooks and then they dig their fingernails into the rawhide of the ball. But that doesnt mean that you can hold the knuckleball any which way youd like. Former knuckleballer and pitching coach Charlie Hough says that the increased rarity of the knuckleball is due to scouts increasingly looking only for the best arm. Niekro began his career with the Milwaukee Braves and ended it with the Atlanta Braves. Elsewhere in the piece, Blount presciently suggested that because knuckleballs seem to suspend the natural aging process in the arm, Niekro might stick around to an even later age than his 46-year-old knuckleballing teammate, reliever Hoyt Wilhelm. Put a little too much spin on the ball or throw it just a little too fast, Nathan says, and you're basically serving up a batting-practice pitch that the hitter can feast on. By ESPN.com news services. The Boston Red Sox, in their 2004 world championship season, had Mirabelli regularly catching in place of Jason Varitek when Tim Wakefield was pitching. Dont do it. So what we did, we would get into the sixth or seventh inning and wed see him not pitching so well and wed take him out. " So, Nathan says, there's "not a push to throw it and teach the pitch at an early age.". Jim Bouton said, "coaches don't respect it. Phil Niekro grips his knuckleball Charlie Hough (pronounced Huff) MLB 1970-1994 Charlie Hough knuckleball Charlie Hough grips his knuckleball Origin of the KnuckleBall Lew Moren first used the knuckler in 1907 with the Phillies, but Eddie Cicotte perfected the pitch with the Red Sox. In association football (soccer), the method of striking the ball so that it produces almost no spinning motion during its flight has been colloquially described as "knuckleballing" by commentators, due to the ball's motion that resembles a baseball thrown with a knuckleball pitch. Other names for the knuckleball have generally alluded to its motion and slower speed. The fingertip grip is more commonly used today by knuckleball pitchers, like retired Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, who had a knuckleball with a lot of movement. "[10], In 1991, Hall of Fame catcher Rick Ferrell was quoted as saying, "I think the knuckleball is fading out." Well, guess what? It's not 'really baseball.' Zink and Fernandez used a hybrid knuckle ball grip, using their middle-fingers tip and the curled knuckle of their pointer finger. Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro, who rode his knuckleball to 318 victories, was the seventh Hall of Famer to pass away in 2020. . You can pitch seven good innings with a knuckleball, and as soon as you walk a guy they go, 'See, there's that damn knuckleball.'" [This states that a sphere with a three-inch diameter makes its maximum movement between 50 and 75 mph.] Over the distance from the pitcher's mound to home plate, the effect of these forces is that the knuckleball can flutter, dance, jiggle, or curve in two different directions during its flight. Seams catch on skin and send the ball spinning. According to The Atlas, the average fastball speed is now over 90 MPH in the game today. In fact, some did not think that Mr. Niekro was even Hall of Fame worthy. The majors oldest player this season was a designated hitter, Albert Pujols, who is 40. The knuckleball grip used by Boston Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright. So there is some evidence that unconventional knuckleball grips work. He was even less effective for them, making just three turns before drawing his release at months end. The knuckleball is on the verge of extinction, and with the passing of Phil Niekro in 2020, who could pass on the proper grip over the years, the claim that knuckleballers will never appear again is supported. For example, Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas went with Dickey when the pitcher was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in late 2012, and the team later signed Henry Blanco, who also caught for Dickey. [14], Another factor contributing to the rarity of the knuckleball is the difficulty of throwing the pitch. Im a big baseball fan and every time I learn about the passing of a ballplayer that I watched and grew up to as a kid, part of my youth also passes away. Phil Niekro, Knuckleball. He had a presence that just transcended what you encounter every day in the clubhouse, Dickey said. (modern). He ended up winning 318 games and is fourth on the career innings list. This change adds a deflecting force to the baseball, making it difficult for batters to hit but also difficult for pitchers to control and catchers to catch; umpires are challenged as well, as the ball's irregular motion through the air makes it harder to call balls and strikes. The lower physical strain also fosters longer careers. On March 2, 2010, she trained with Tim Wakefield at the Boston Red Sox minor-league training facility. John Havlicek, the future N.B.A. During the 1945 season, with talent depleted by call-ups to fight in World War II, the Washington Senators had a pitching rotation which included four knuckleball pitchers (Dutch Leonard, Johnny Niggeling, Mickey "Itsy Bitsy" Haefner, and Roger Wolff) who combined for 60 complete games and 60 wins, carrying the Senators to second place. A five-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner, he never won a Cy Young award, but he started more games (716) than all but Young, Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, and Greg Maddux, taking more turns than any starter who never pitched in a World Series. Supernatural, thats what he was for me that supernatural representation of what the pitch could become., Saying Goodbye to the Knuckleball, and Its Master, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/sports/baseball/phil-niekro.html. Most knuckleballers end up throwing the pitch almost exclusively mixing in few, if any, fastballs, curves or sliders. Phil Niekro did not reach the majors for good until he was 27. [8] To reduce the chances of having the knuckleball get hit for a home run, some pitchers will impart a slight topspin so that if no force causes the ball to dance, it will move downward in flight. Phil Niekro is the only knuckleball pitcher to win 300 games. Yet life goes on for them after the final out, and only their feats live forever. For decades after Niekros retirement, the pitch wobbled but endured; someone was always throwing it, from Hough to Tom Candiotti to Wakefield to Dickey, with others mixed in. In baseball terminology the pitcher and catcher together are known as a "battery", and having a catcher experienced in catching a knuckleball pitcher is preferable, so the trade of pitcher and catcher together is sometimes referred to as a "batteries included" trade. Richard Drew / AP file Link copied Failed to subscribe, please contact admin. The knuckle curve has a somewhat similar name because of the grip used to throw it (also with the knuckles or fingernails), but it is generally thrown harder and with spin. That is why he has hit so many catchers in the forehead. "[1] Bouton said, "Catchers hate it. Knuckleball pitchers can throw more innings than other pitchers, and, requiring less time to recover after pitching, can pitch more frequently. Phil and Charlie and Wake, they all would share how important it is to perpetuate the craft, Dickey, who won the 2012 National League Cy Young Award while with the Mets, said by phone on Sunday. However, Danny Mendick of the Chicago White Sox, an infielder, did throw a few knucklers this year via their 1st career pitching appearance during a blowout game. This modern pitch is unrelated to the knuckleball. Its a good reminder for me of the tortoise and the hare.. According to Adair, the 150ms minimum human reaction time may be too slow to adjust to a knuckleball's changing direction.[2]. As he had before Cox was hired, he offered himself up as a player-manager candidate, but Braves owner Ted Turner rebuffed him, instead tabbing Torre. After the season, Niekro received the lone vote in the NL Cy Young balloting that did not go to Seaver. The men on the stage in Cooperstown, N.Y., at the annual Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, brought joy to millions. He lived in the Atlanta suburb of Flowery Branch, where a main thoroughfare bears his name. Hitting a knuckleball is different enough from other aspects of baseball that players specifically prepare for the pitch during batting practice before games they expect it in. Even if I had a few aches and pains, I was going to get out there and play, because Knucksie would.. Finally, Mathews (now the manager) returned him to the rotation, where he allowed just three runs over 19 innings in his next two starts, both complete-game victories. Mastering it, Niekro would tell aspirants, requires complete fidelity. Knucksie was woven into the Braves fabric, first in Milwaukee and then in Atlanta. That year, while catching just 76 games (59 for the Braves), he set a modern NL record with 27 passed balls, but his batterymate thrived. When the Braves won 88 games and finished third in the NL West in 1974 the best they would do between 1969 and 82 the 35-year-old Niekro led the way, pacing the NL in wins (20), innings (302.1), and complete games (18) while ranking second in WAR (7.9). Its these similarities that make up the key points of a great knuckleball grip. Trying to hit that thing is a miserable way to make a living.. I would have liked for my mother and my friends to have been there.. On a related note, the knuckleball is essentially extinct. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey of the Toronto Blue Jays won the 2012 Cy Young award for best pitcher in the National League after winning 20 games and losing just six for the New York Mets. While the pitch has many advantages, there are also disadvantages of the pitch. The grips of these guys are similar because they understand the basic rule for throwing a great knuckleball reduce as many variables as possible to put yourself into a position to give yourself a chance of killing the spin entirely. Plus, as the seemingly ageless Niekro, Hough and Tim Wakefield have shown in past years, mastering the knuckleball can keep someone pitching well into his 30s or beyond. Major League Baseball teams try and have a dedicated catcher catch this pitch to reduce passed balls since they train to catch this pitch. Improper grip using the knuckles instead of fingertips. Now you have to apply even pressure using three fingers. Instead, they should be celebrated and appropriately recognized. [32] For a catcher, a key disadvantage to using a first baseman's glove mitt is that they are not designed for easy extraction of the ball from the glove, making it harder to prevent baserunners from stealing. We look at them and see endless summer. By continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy. From 1974-80, he averaged 304 innings, 201 strikeouts, a 3.26 ERA (122 ERA+) and 7.3 WAR and an 18-16 record. Via the Hartford Courants Claire Smith, he said, The nicest feeling of the whole day was right after I came off the mound Joe told me they took my dad out of intensive care, Phil said. [2] Because they cannot discuss pitching with non knuckleball-using teammates, they often share tips and insights even if on competing teams, and believe that they have a responsibility to help younger players develop the pitch. Niekro joined Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock, Bob. R. A. Dickey estimates that it takes at least a year to grasp its fundamentals. Niekro was inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1997. The screwball is, sadly, a mostly lost pitch. Of his 716 starts, 595 came for the Braves. After two hours and 20 minutes, umpires decided conditions were unplayable, and under the rules at the time, that meant the proceedings to that point were wiped out (today it would be resumed as a suspended game). Niekro joined Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford and Joe Morgan in a grim lineup of greats we lost in 2020. Phil throws it at three different speeds from four different motions: over the top,. In our Corporate America environment where so many people sound the same and look the same, think about what separates you from the masses as you deliver differentiated value to your clients. When you start off learning the knuckleball, it can be frustrating. [19] At the same time, pitchers rarely focus on the knuckleball if they have reasonable skill with more standard pitches. His June 1 win over the Tigers gave the Niekro brothers 530 wins, one more than Gaylord and Jim Perry, but on August 9, while carrying a 5.89 ERA, Niekro was traded to the Blue Jays. "He was a very good pitcher," Niekro told ESPN in. Geno Petralli of the Texas Rangers in 1987 while trying to catch knuckleball pitcher Charlie Hough, and tied again in 2013 when Ryan Lavarnway of the Boston Red Sox had four in the first inning, catching knuckleballer Steven Wright in Wright's first major league start. The Houston Astros scored on him three times. The Braves won 88 games but finished three behind the Dodgers. Phil Niekro, a pitcher who used his signature knuckleball to fool generations of hitters and craft a Hall of Fame career, died Saturday night in his sleep, the Braves announced Sunday. Another way to throw the knuckler is to use your middle finger to guide the ball and use your thumb to stabilize the pitch. Twenty years after he broke into the majors, 45-year-old starter Phil Niekro deals a knuckleball against the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium, Aug. 8, 1984. He didnt want to mess up his swing fooling around with a thing like that.. Philip Henry Niekro Jr. was born on April 1, 1939 in Blaine, Ohio, an unincorporated community near the Ohio-West Virginia border, and grew up in nearby Lansing, a town of just 634 people as of. Please follow Dennis on Twitter @DennisCGarcia and on his In-House Consigliere Blog. One of them just might end up making it to "the show." He reinvented pitching by adding this slow, crazy moving pitch. Toad Ramsey of the Louisville Colonels in the old American Associationhis pitch likely resembled the knuckle curveand Eddie Cicotte of the Chicago White Sox, who in 1908 was nicknamed "Knuckles", are two possible creators of the pitch. For example, pitchers will throw more wild pitches since the ball travels in a random pattern to the home plate. Just like that link at the top of the article from The Atlas, the average MLB fastball continues to increase year over year. Niekro won 318 games over his 24-year career, which ended in 1987 at age 48 after he made one final start with the Braves. Avoid the seams. And, yes, there have been guys who have gotten to the Major Leagues with funky grips, like Charlie Zink and Jared Fernandez. There are other prominent knuckleball pitchers like Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, who had a very effective knuckler and knuckle curve, and Cy Young Award winning pitcher R. A. Dickey. As of 2004[update], only about 70 Major League Baseball pitchers have regularly used the knuckleball during their careers, and its use has become rarer over time. By 1963, Bouton was winning 21 games for the Yankees and starting in the World Series, while Niekro had still not surfaced in the majors.
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