8trackdisco wrote:Tim Wakefield, Red Sox Knuckleballer dead of brain cancer at 57?!
Horrible.
He was one of my favorite Red Sox players in the modern era. There was a documentary that I watched a few years ago called Knuckleball! that featured the long lost trade of throwing a knuckleblall. Wakefield was one of the best.
If memory serves me correctly the featured pitchers were Tim Wakefield, R.A. Dickey, Phil Niekro. It walked though their careers and some science on the different types of knuckleballs thrown. Wakefield started out in the minor leagues as 1st baseman but his agent talked him into becoming a pitcher throwing knuckeballs. Some days the ball was on target, other days not so much. It's an unpredictable pitch. Even the pitcher didn't really know where it was going after it left his hand. Depended a lot on the weather and the wind. Not only did hitters hate the knuckleball but so did catchers. The All Star catcher, Jason Varitek, had trouble catching the unpredictable pitch. When Wakefield pitched for the Sox they had to keep a personal catcher on the roster for him who was better at catching his pitches.
It was an interesting watch and I'd recommended it. I think it was on Amazon Prime.
RIP Wakefield