Comments on: Unlikely Heroes

By: Pribek

Pribek — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:11:21 +0000

That’s tragic J! But, I would suspect most music professors have had similar experiences, especially those marching band guys.

I kid, I kid! Just a joke man.

And, I couldn’t resist, you kind of threw me a softball there.

By: J

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:43:40 +0000

I love the historical sports figures and loved learning about the knuckleball. Thanks for the post, J.P. BTW,I ended my baseball career in 4th grade when a large wooden Louisville Slugger homed in on my forehead during a school playground match. When the teachers revived me, I discovered I had developed an incurable bat phobia. Never did get even with Tommy for slinging that bat, either. Dirty yob!

J’s last blog post..Preparing for performance.

By: Pribek

Pribek — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:59:33 +0000

PD, I’m impressed that you had knuckleball aspirations. Good story, too bad you didn’t stick with it.

By: Pat Darnell and Friends

Pat Darnell and Friends — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:34:18 +0000

Note: reduction in spin makes for a wobble slow rotation, that fights against air, and gravity. The crafty pitcher has reduced also the inertia in the ball as it mimics a bumble bee in flight.

Batters who hit 90+ mph pitches are put on display, as they have to use all the wrist and forearm and butt to lay into this non-pitch of pitches.

{Get ready here comes the miserable anecdote:}
I was a third baseman. They let me pitch batting practice because from third one must throw straight, chest high directly at the first-baseman’s mit, with no pause. [It's the hypotenuse, you know, of the diamond.]

I perfected a knuc=kle ball that I used in warmup at third base. I threw it sometimes at the huge lefty on first to his chagrin, and cursing.

As I pitched watermelons in batting practice, with a few other fruits, I would throw a change up knuckle… well anyway it earned me a chance to pitch in the last game of my little league career. Coach Thurman called me over from third, told me to pitch it out from the fourth.

One on, one out, and the guy known as Billy “Boxcar,” 10 homeruns at bat that year, I pitched my usual wide and low and letters; so with two balls one strike I threw my tosser knuckle at old Billy.

He stepped up and put his lard butt down — just like in slow pitch softball — not only did he hit #11 out of the park, it went over the box cars beyond the fence right center, and clanged into a caboose. And got his nickname that day.

Coach Thurman came out concerned for my mental state, and relieved me with Steve Wauson, the side arm chunker. That was the last knuckler I ever threw.

Pat Darnell and Friends’s last blog post..Blogger Adopt a Celebrity Program