The art of throwing a knuckleball has been passed down from the earliest days of the game, its uniqueness due to the fact that it's so hard to master. When a knuckleball isn't fluttering, it's batting practice.
Because of its difficulty, its throwers form a unique fraternity. From Eddie Cicotte to Dutch Leonard to Hoyt Wilhelm to Wilbur Wood to Charlie Hough to the Niekro brothers to Tom Candiotti to Tim Wakefield - the art has been passed down top somebody in the majors, but there's never more than a few throwing the pitch at one time.
Now, with the retirement of Wakefield on Friday, there's just one active big-leaguer throwing the pitch: R.A. Dickey of the Mets, who isn't exactly a Hall of Fame candidate with a 22-27 career record and a 5.58 ERA. There are no knuckleball pitchers in the AL, and none on the immediate horizon, either.
Wakefield, 45, won't quite make it to Cooperstown, either, but he will go down with the best. Of the pitchers whose primary pitch was the knuckler, only Phil Niekro (318), Ted Lyons (260), Joe Niekro (221), Charlie Hough (216), Jesse Haines (210) and Cicotte (208) had more wins. Wakefield's two World Series rings are more than anybody on that list. Wakefield was 200-180 with a 4.41 ERA in his 19-year career, and only Cy Young and Roger Clemens had more victories as a Boston Red Sox pitcher. Wakefield was seven wins away from Clemens' team record.
"Ultimately, I think this is what's best for the Red Sox," Wakefield said Friday to MLB.com. "Honestly, seven wins aren't going to make me a different person or a better man. My family really needs me at home. This is a very special time in my kids' life, and I never wanted to regret missing it."
Wakefield won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2010, honoring his off-the-field contributions.
Related: Tim Wakefield profile; Step by Step: How to Throw a Knuckleball
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