http://oddballsportsblog.com/2012/06/21/unique-pitcher-can-join-rare-company/
Unique Pitcher Can Join Rare*Company
June 21, 2012 § 1 Comment
RA Dickey P1020957 (Photo credit: paul.hadsall)
Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana, Justin Verlander.* One thing they have in common is that all 4 of these guys have won baseball’s Pitching Triple Crown.* Yes, those 4 men are the last 4 to lead the league in ERA, wins, and strikeouts.* This year there’s a national league pitcher who can join these men.* Not quite halfway through the season, Mets pitcher RA Dickey has 11 wins, 103 strikeouts, and a 2.00 ERA.* If the season was to end right now, he’d join the exclusive club of heat-throwing aces.
But wait, this guy doesn’t throw heat.* What he throws can be described better as “witchcraft” or “magic”.* What R.A. Dickey throws is a knuckleball.* He throws it well, too.
It’s no surprise that with practice, a guy who specializes in the knuckler can be very successful at it.* For one, it’s the rarest pitch in the book.* Only a handful of players ever use it, if even once a game.* It’s a pitch that most teams can’t practice hitting, because they have nobody to throw it to their batters.* When hitters aren’t prepared, the pitcher has a huge advantage.* The other big factor of this pitch is that its break is unpredictable.* It’s hard enough for a catcher to stop it, so how are batters going to be successful hitting it?* The direction and break is different every time the ball is thrown.* Not easy to judge that.
The strikeout numbers are what stick out, though.* Two great knuckleballers were Tim Wakefield and Phil Niekro.* They had some high strikeout seasons, but not compared to what Dickey’s doing.* Wakefield’s highest K/9 ratio for a season was 7.9, while Niekro’s was 7.1.* Dickey’s is 9.4, which is significantly higher.* Now consider that Wakefield and Niekro had losing records and ERA’s that doubled Dickey’s 2012 ERA. *That makes it even more impressive that he’s the triple crown candidate right now.* He’s already having the best individual season for a knuckleball pitcher ever in the history of baseball.
There’s a reason he can get lots of strikeouts without sacrificing ERA and wins, and it’s because of his pitch velocity.* It’s not anything astoundingly high, but it’s so effective.* Dickey’s fastball stays in the low 80’s.* His changeup hovers around 80 mph.* His slider tops out at 80.* His knuckleball is consistently in the high 70’s. (source) If he throws strikes, or things that look like strikes, how can hitters consistently hit this guy?*
There’s no answer, because they can’t.*
When all 4 of your pitches are roughly the same speed, but their trajectories are all completely different, you can never know what pitch is coming.* You can’t judge his pitches by their speeds.* It’s hard enough to hit a changeup because it looks like a fastball at first, but how can one expect to touch a knuckleball when it’s just as fast as his fastball?* It’s almost not fair.
Now R.A. Dickey hasn’t had a legendary career.* He’s 37 years old, has a career ERA of 4.09, and has a total of 52 career wins.* He’s not going to the Hall of Fame, unless he strikes out 500 guys a season for 6 years.* But that doesn’t mean he can’t make history, by having one of the most entertaining and bizarrely incredible individual seasons ever.* Even if he doesn’t get that triple crown, enjoy what he’s been able to do this season. *It’s going to be a unique experience when we get to see a random knuckleballer as the National League’s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game.
Unique Pitcher Can Join Rare*Company
June 21, 2012 § 1 Comment
RA Dickey P1020957 (Photo credit: paul.hadsall)
Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana, Justin Verlander.* One thing they have in common is that all 4 of these guys have won baseball’s Pitching Triple Crown.* Yes, those 4 men are the last 4 to lead the league in ERA, wins, and strikeouts.* This year there’s a national league pitcher who can join these men.* Not quite halfway through the season, Mets pitcher RA Dickey has 11 wins, 103 strikeouts, and a 2.00 ERA.* If the season was to end right now, he’d join the exclusive club of heat-throwing aces.
But wait, this guy doesn’t throw heat.* What he throws can be described better as “witchcraft” or “magic”.* What R.A. Dickey throws is a knuckleball.* He throws it well, too.
It’s no surprise that with practice, a guy who specializes in the knuckler can be very successful at it.* For one, it’s the rarest pitch in the book.* Only a handful of players ever use it, if even once a game.* It’s a pitch that most teams can’t practice hitting, because they have nobody to throw it to their batters.* When hitters aren’t prepared, the pitcher has a huge advantage.* The other big factor of this pitch is that its break is unpredictable.* It’s hard enough for a catcher to stop it, so how are batters going to be successful hitting it?* The direction and break is different every time the ball is thrown.* Not easy to judge that.
The strikeout numbers are what stick out, though.* Two great knuckleballers were Tim Wakefield and Phil Niekro.* They had some high strikeout seasons, but not compared to what Dickey’s doing.* Wakefield’s highest K/9 ratio for a season was 7.9, while Niekro’s was 7.1.* Dickey’s is 9.4, which is significantly higher.* Now consider that Wakefield and Niekro had losing records and ERA’s that doubled Dickey’s 2012 ERA. *That makes it even more impressive that he’s the triple crown candidate right now.* He’s already having the best individual season for a knuckleball pitcher ever in the history of baseball.
There’s a reason he can get lots of strikeouts without sacrificing ERA and wins, and it’s because of his pitch velocity.* It’s not anything astoundingly high, but it’s so effective.* Dickey’s fastball stays in the low 80’s.* His changeup hovers around 80 mph.* His slider tops out at 80.* His knuckleball is consistently in the high 70’s. (source) If he throws strikes, or things that look like strikes, how can hitters consistently hit this guy?*
There’s no answer, because they can’t.*
When all 4 of your pitches are roughly the same speed, but their trajectories are all completely different, you can never know what pitch is coming.* You can’t judge his pitches by their speeds.* It’s hard enough to hit a changeup because it looks like a fastball at first, but how can one expect to touch a knuckleball when it’s just as fast as his fastball?* It’s almost not fair.
Now R.A. Dickey hasn’t had a legendary career.* He’s 37 years old, has a career ERA of 4.09, and has a total of 52 career wins.* He’s not going to the Hall of Fame, unless he strikes out 500 guys a season for 6 years.* But that doesn’t mean he can’t make history, by having one of the most entertaining and bizarrely incredible individual seasons ever.* Even if he doesn’t get that triple crown, enjoy what he’s been able to do this season. *It’s going to be a unique experience when we get to see a random knuckleballer as the National League’s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game.
