TimC Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 I only played rec baseball growing up and never saw a good one. I know there's no movement and it dances all over, but man it doesn't look that hard to hit Wakefield for a major leaguer hitter. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 yeah...... i used to pitch..didn't use it too often in games....just messed around in practice. it seemed to be more effective in colder weather and when it was more windy. what makes it hard to hit is that when it moves, it moves quickly.. very hard to adjust to it. and it can also flutter...change it's direction. when a knuckballer isn't on, they are just a bunch of fat pitches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 I was watching it last night, and that seems like a great pitch to teach if you can learn it. For kids, it doesn't look like it would mess up your wrist like curve balls do. But, it's still moving around 60-65 mph with a two finger release that takes some speed off of it, so maybe most high schoolers can't generate that speed from it to make it effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackshi17 Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 Knuckler doesn't rotate and looks larger than other pitches also it is a change of pace...... batters will usually get it together after a few at bats. Kind of like the change of pace from Fast pitch softball to slo-pitch softball. Looks really fat and you try and "kill it". Hardest pitch I ever tried to hit was a "fork ball" bottom just drops out as it crosses the plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
major-tom Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 Not many people can throw a "major league knuckler", though I've seen many in high school and a couple in college that were nothing compared to the ones that Wakefield and other pros throw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackshi17 Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 Yea I saw a guy hit one to deep left field in the eleventh inning today. It was a thing of beauty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donutrun Jellies Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I'm not a Sox fan ata all, but it still strikes me funny that folks weren't mocking Wakefield's knuckler after he mystified the Yanks twice in the alcs ... I throw a knuckler in both baseball and fastpitch softball (tougher to make it dance) ... I like a little wind in the face to make it dance -- but too much is too much. Aarron Boone did all you can do against the knuckleball -- swing and hope. Sometimes the ball flutters onto the bat, most times it doesn't. It could have just as easily been a pop up to short, but wowsers it wasn't. That's the risk of a knuckleball -- if you guess right, it's going a looooooong way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soopanuts Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 jackshi17: Yea I saw a guy hit one to deep left field in the eleventh inning today. It was a thing of beauty. Hahahahaha...love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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