Schlossberg: The return of the knuckleball

From SABR member Dan Schlossberg at Latino Sports on May 12, 2016:

The knuckleball is the most confounding pitch in baseball. Hitters can’t hit it, catchers can’t catch it, and pitchers can’t predict where it’s going. As Muhammad Ali would say, it moves like a butterfly and stings like a bee.

Whenever a knuckleballers work, catchers bring out oversized gloves in the hopes of preventing passed balls and wild pitches. Former catcher Bob Uecker, still in the Milwaukee Brewers broadcast booth, said the best way to receive it is to wait for it to stop rolling before picking it up.

Thrown at speeds that range from slow to slower, the knuckleball is so difficult to handle that few teams allow it.

There are two exceptions, however: the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox.

Read the full article here: http://www.latinosports.com/dans-dugout-return-knuckleball/



Originally published: May 12, 2016. Last Updated: May 12, 2016.