The knuckleball—so difficult to hit but also difficult to control
and catch—has been a part of major league baseball since the early
1900s and continues to be used to this day. This remarkable and
unusual pitch is the instrument of a special breed of pitcher, a
determined athlete possessing tremendous concentration, self
confidence, and a willingness to weather all kinds of adversity. In
The Knuckleball Club: The Extraordinary Men Who Mastered Baseball's
Most Difficult Pitch, Richard A. Johnson provides an informal history
of the wildest, weirdest, most mesmerizing pitch of all time.
Beginning with an examination of the invention of the knuckleball,
Johnson then briefly touches upon the science and psychology of the
pitch before profiling the game’s great knuckleballers. Rich in
anecdotes and interviews, this book shares the unique stories of Hoyt
Wilhelm, Phil Niekro, Jim Bouton, Tom Candiotti, Tim Wakefield, R.A.
Dickey, and many others. Also featured are the stories of the best
knuckleball catchers, from Bob Uecker and Doug Mirabelli to Rick
Ferrell and Paul Richards. While knuckleballers today are an anomaly,
decades ago a surprisingly large number of major league pitchers used
the knuckler. The Knuckleball Club is the first book to provide a
comprehensive survey of the pitch and the players who used it,
offering a deep understanding of how the knuckleball has fit into the
fabric of the game over the past one hundred years. Anyone wanting to
learn more about this unusual pitch, from baseball historians and fans
to current and former players, will find this book an entertaining and
enlightening read.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781442261709
Publisert
2017
Utgiver
Vendor
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter