The knuckle ball

Segment 8 in "trick or treat" month.

The knuckle ball is the epitome of a trick. It is toyed with at many youth league levels and it seems everyone can throw a knuckleball, or at least tries to throw a knuckleball. The knuckleball does have some serious merit in baseball but it's place must be considered with some reflection.

The knuckleball is not meant to be thrown as a supplement to other pitches. The knuckleball is a stand alone pitch. It is not a part of someone's repertoire. It is the repertoire.

If a knuckleball is good enough to be thrown in a game situtaion it is good enough to throw it exclusively. And, it is good enough that even the batter could anticipate it being thrown.

The knuckle ball is thrown so differently from all the other pitches that it has no surprise element to it. As soon as the pitcher goes to throw the pitch the batter sees "knuckleball." Therefore, the batter is not surprised in any way. The only way the pitch can be effective if the pitch has such movement that it makes it effective. The surprise element is immediately eliminated from the bag when a knuckleball is thrown.

So, although it's nice to have a knuckleball, it isn't something that would make an appearance in a game unless it was a very nasty moving pitch. A pitch that could exist as a pitcher's only pitch if he had to choose.