The Impossible Career of R.A. Dickey 

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Not many may know that R.A. was not only rare as a successful modern Knuckler, but he might be the only one ever to master the Knuckler at different SETS of velocity. Meaning he could throw the Knuckler at different speeds. His "Hard" Knuckler was in the high 70's, sometimes cracking the 80's. But he also had a more traditional "Soft" Knuckler in the low 70's range. AND at times he could go even lower in the 50's when he chose to. The advantage of mixing different velocities for his Knucklers throwing hitters timing off even more when facing that crazy pitch. Note also the "Soft" ones had more dancing movement then the "Hard" offerings. Somehow he cracked the code on how to throw different kinds of Knucklers at different speeds!

It's pretty beautiful. You're in control of the knuckleball until you release it. After that, it goes where the wind takes it. Sounds like Dickey was a knuckleball himself. Fortunately the wind took him somewhere good.

My favorite Mets player for awhile. For my birthday the year of his Cy Young win, my family got me his book, signed and personalized by him 🙂

I threw a forkball in high-school and a bit in college. A true forkball behaves a lot like a knuckleball. People would be surprised how effective such a pitch is even at the low velocity I possessed. Dickey's ability to throw a knuckleball harder then anyone else and consistently keep it around the strikezone was impressive as hell. He also changed speeds on the knuckleball throwing what amounted to fastball and changeup knuckleballs. I have no idea how he managed that, but it was great fun to watch.

Dickey was quite a character. Resilient and intelligent. I started following him with the Jays and always enjoyed watching him pitch, and especially enjoyed the interview after - he was always gracious, humourous and very thoughtful and articulate. Thanks for putting this together!

Im glad R.A dickey is getting the recognition he deserves

Die hard Mets fan I saw every start he was a beast that Knuckleball was unique as hell I never saw anyone throw one and still be able to throw a fastball up to 90MPH, He earned that Cy Young forreal.

I just gained a new level of respect for this man.

Put this man in the Hall of Fame

Still can't believe the Jays won the Dickey for Syndergaard trade. Dude was an absolute work horse for the Jays. I remember him in 2016. It was death, taxes, and Dickey going 6+ with ≤3 runs. I still can't understand how someone can throw a mid 80's knuckleball.

Read his autobiography! It is an insane story, and great read.

Dickey is one of my favorites...gotta love a knuckleballer who balls!

I’m glad the rarity of his cy young season and life are getting some light. I always enjoyed watching him pitch being a rare knuckleballer, but that masterpiece season he won the cy young seems to be just a blip to most mainstream viewers. The documentary knuckleball is a must watch.

Dickey's story is pretty amazing. A guy who was a beast in college that then had to struggle through many years in the majors and then make a significant change to his game (i.e. becoming a knuckleballer). It must have taken a lot of faith in himself and he was rewarded handsomely for that faith.

As a Mariners fan, "why do they get better when they leave™?"

He never played for any of my teams (almost), but he was always one of my favorites once he found himself. Watching him pitch was an incredible unique experience I always hope will happen once again with a great modern knuckleballer. When great talent is combined with great character, that's a sports life worth highlighting.

If you’re ever in Council Bluffs for any length of time, you’ll try to swim across the river, too.

Wow, pretty impressive story. I always liked the guy because of his underdog persona but now I have a new found respect for this man. Thanks for sharing

Oh my gosh, another day filled with cuts that made it

will always be my favourite player AND INSPIRATION. Knuckleball 4 ever. If you reading this R.A. we miss you in the north east ! & Canada

Anyone remember when the Blue Jays rotation had Dickey, Johnson, and Wang?

That's another great Content as always so thank you. He reminds me of Jake Arrieta when he had 7.28 ERA at Baltimore was the worst Pitcher to many people at that time and won CY Young,WS,Silver Slugger,was All Star pitched two No Hitters and led the MLB in Wins when he played for the Cubs.

Loved this dude. He had such great years for the Mets and got us a haul in a trade, great video man

These are the true heroes, those who get knocked down over and over but eventually through sheer force of will reach the top

Great video MTC!! Maybe Noah Syndergaard should take notes & try to learn the knuckleball to revive his career. I also never knew how much Dickey looked like Jeff Bagwell @15:18

One of my favs! No importa si el dolor fue grande, no se rindió nunca, buen video bro!!

I caught for RA In summer league, Twitty city team. Our team picked him up for World Series game. We were 18yrs old.

"...the ones broken by the game. The hungry ones who don't want to quit. The weird ones who don't care about being outcasts..." Great video. Very inspiring. I was having a terrible month but after watching this I'm like fuck it and be like R.A. Thank you for sharing this video. 👍

Great story and outstanding video, very well made, thx!

What a story! Thank you for this one!! Glad I finally watched it 👏🏻👏🏻

Charlie Hough belongs in the HoF, especially as a coach. RA is quite a great and humble giant too.

The quality of these videos is great, but your tone is hard to listen to. Just dial back the tucker Carlson impression

Dickey also threw his knuckle ball harder than anybody else.

My personal view is two fingers on seam with remaining fingers surrounding ball=knuckle curve. 1 knucke-Knuckle slider (close to fastball) Since dude has huge hands (met him while a Twin), and his strength if he went hard knuckle and wind was blowing out break could go 3+ ft. Pitchers that feature knuckle type pitches have to either be start/mop up role. Managers and novice pitching coaches who dont understand Knuckle mechanics and other pitchers with nasty stuff it may take an inning or two to calibrate placement as wind action can vary from bullpen to on the mound and most bullpens just throw a slop of dirt in a corner. If I had my human rights i would propose placement of "three cups with a teeny tiny wind flag at corner of dugouts behind home plate with barometer" so pitchers in dugout can check while charting pitches. Glad Rob A Dickey could learn from MN Twins mistakes and apply to serviceable career. Cuz of Fidyrich apologists and his use of knuckle, his forced retirement needs to be looked at as dude could still grab a bat or catch and wasnt a Niekro/Hough type. ❤❤❤

Da da da da daaaaaa. Da da da da daaaaaa. Da da da da daaaaaaaa.

Rip Tim Wakefield.

Blessed with a Made The Cut video

This i some great stuff

I wanted the Braves to pick him up so bad after seeing that knuckleball-revival in NY. Nastiest pitches I've ever seen, except for maybe Venters's sinker.

That was a great video, theres not much more to say! Thank you :)

Losing all that money over a picture is crazy!!!

Nice write up. Helpful tip; Stop emphasizing the last syllable in every sentence.

😢😢😢😢😢 May Jehovah God have mercy on us all.

LOVE YOUR VIDS!!!!!!!!!!!

My brother in Chirst, you don't need to end every sentence on an upswing. This is borderline unlistenable.

He had no UCL?😮

The commentary is so awful. Just talk normally bruh

Typical Josh Thole carry

Lots of different facial hair lol

Love your videos! Please try to focus on not ending every sentence in the exact same upward inflection. To be blunt, it is extremely annoying to listen to.

Talk to fast