Tim Wakefield announced that he will retire today. He wasn't a spectacular pitcher, but he was the only pitcher for a long time that was categorized as a "Knuckleballer." I always had a special place in my heart for the knuckleball. It's the quirkiest pitch ever devised, and it can actually work while turning a baseball game into a slow pitch softball bout.
There's nothing better than seeing a Major League batter strike out on a 65 mph knuckleball. Tim Wakefield threw one of the best knuckleballs in MLB history. Prior to Wakefield, other names such as Phil Niekro, Eddie Cicotte and Ted Lyons had made the Knuckleball a great and effective go-to pitch. I would say that Wakefield, having success with a knuckleball in the steroid era, really elevates him to the Top 5 knuckleballers of all time list.
Knuckleballs can be thrown with a variety of effective grips. Wakefield used a basic knuckleball grip, with fingers on top of the ball as well as fingers on the side to keep the ball from doing more than one rotation upon release. If you throw a knuckleball just right, it will do about a half rotation from release to plate and this will allow it to do really wacky things on the way. Here is a picture of Wake's grip:
For me, Wake was exciting to watch. I never get tired of watching a knuckleballer pitch. He was pretty much the only person who could get me to watch a Red Sox game on purpose if it was not against the White Sox. Wakefield is by no means the best knuckleballer, but since most great knuckleballers pitched before I was alive, he's been the only one I have had the chance to watch for a long career. There are others like Charlie Haeger and RA Dickey still pitching, but Wakefield was the only one who is throwing a true, slow, knuckleball consistently.
When the knuckleball doesn't dance, it gets killed. He might be remembered for some bad moments more than good, maybe unfairly. He's known for giving up the home run to Aaron bleeping" Boone in Game 7 of the ALCS in 2003. He was never really ever able to redeem himself in the post season. He was pretty awful in fact.
His career record is 5-7 with a 6.75 ERA in 11 starts, 18 total games pitched in post season play. His overall record is 200-180 with a 4.41 ERA. He did win two World Series rings, so it apparently didn't matter if he was contributing to it or not. I don't know if there are any moments that were really spectacular for people to remember him by, but one or two pitches may not be a fair way to judge him overall.
The best season of Wake's career by far was his first year with the Red Sox. He was released in 1995 by the Pirates and signed six days later with the Red Sox. He went 16-8 with a 2.95 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. He finished third in Cy Young voting. He had other good years, but never any great ones after that season. That doesn't mean he wasn't really fun to watch every time he took the mound.
As a White Sox fan, I can appreciate the Knuckleball a lot. Eddie Cicotte, Ted Lyons, Hoyt Wilhelm, Wilbur Wood, and Charlie Hough all spent time with the White Sox in their career. I would put all of these guys in my Top 10 knuckleballers of all time list. The Sox also gave knuckleballer Charlie Haeger a chance to pitch and he got in 29.2 IP in a short stint over two seasons as a reliever.
I will definitely miss the knuckleball over the player. I hope this is NOT the death of the knuckleball, but I just don't think anyone is out there throwing it anymore with aspirations of pitching in the Major Leagues. I doubt that we will see another real knuckleball-first pitcher in MLB in the future, throwing a true, slow knuckleball.
Tim Wakefield won 200 games, which is a decent career by any standard. He did it all with a pitch that doesn't go more than 70 MPH, against the steroid era hitters, and in a park with some small dimensions in the corners. I think he should be considered one of the 25 best pitchers of the steroid era, and he was most likely clean since roiding would not have given him any discernible advantage. I respect him, and wish him the best in retirement.
