The knuckleball

[Rene88]

I know I've said it before, but here's a knuckleballer that DD could draft easily on the back end. A pitcher, by the way, that's he has already met. It's a no-brainer DD, let's get it done.

Thanks for posting this, had t heard about this.

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[sportsfan8703]

The O's tried this 2-3 years ago. With people in different situations. Gamboa was a org. arm in AA. The guy Zach ??? made his mlb debut in Seattle then was sent down to learn the knuckler. They also had a guy in the lower leagues throwing one.

Buck was the guy that encouraged Dickey to pick it up. I'd say we definitely have tried.

[crawjo]

I hate hate hate the knuckleball. When your team can't hit it, it's depressing. When your team can hit it, it's depressing.

[Why Not?]

Talent in baseball is a pyramid. For every player at the highest level there are several a step below, and a dozen the step below that. The Orioles have several hundred players in their organization and expect to get a small handful of good major leaguers out of that. Knuckleballers aren't an exception to that. If you have five in your org at any one point it may be many years before you find a good one.

There's also the issue of a poor knuckeball pitcher being essentially unpitchable. While your guy is learning, throwing tumbling, lifeless knucklers at 60 mph mixed in with 78 mph fastballs, he's getting shelled like Dresden. You can't play someone like that until he reaches a minimum level of competence. Anyone remember Joe Gannon? Knuckleballer signed by the O's in 2004. In 23 innings between Bowie and Ottawa he gave up 29 runs and 29 walks before earning his release. Caught on in indy ball, pitched a long time as an innings-eater for the SoMd Blue Crabs. That's what you're going to get much, much more often than Hoyt Wilhelm or even Charlie Zink.

To have any level of impact, you would almost have to have an academy operation going. If some guys show promise, you start throwing them in games. Though I suppose it would be a challenge to even populate said knuckleball school.

[frankhxp]

Thanks. I thought there was another guy in addition to Gamboa.

I've been a little bit fixated on Zach Clark since I was at his only MLB game, which he pitched in Seattle, and I have the ball from the last pitch that he threw in his one and only complete inning. He just about disappeared the next year when he was supposed to keep working on the knuckler. As others have said, it's a gimmick pitch and a big long shot (See Bouton's Ball Four).