This is the last image an opposing batter sees before flailing and fluttering at one of the most wickedly ridiculous pitches major league baseball has ever seen. Conventional knucklers like Niekro, Hough, Wakefield and the lot had great movement on a hard to hit pitch that came in at 60 to 70 miles per hour. After a couple of innings it was possible to "catch up" to those knuckleballs, draw some walks, and get a few runs on the board. There is nothing conventional, though, about this knuckleball pitcher that commands the mound for the New York Metropolitans. This knuckleball pitcher, the one who wears #43, is the only pitcher who has ever been able to control the knuckleball. Not only control it, but throw it harder and more consistent in the strike zone at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour.
This knuckleballer is none other than R.A. Dickey. The man who nearly drowned swimming across the Mississippi river. The man who climbed Kilamanjaro. The man who has found inner peace in the most unpeaceful pitch known to baseball. R.A. has become one with the knuckler and there does not seem to be any way to stop him, let alone get consistent hits off of him. R.A. sits amongst the best that are in the game today with a 12-1 record, 2.15 ERA, 116 strikeouts and a microscopic WHIP of 0.88. What do these numbers mean? That R.A. will most likely be starting the All-Star game for the NL and he is on a roll to possibly win 26 games this year. Add this tremendous pitching and the fact that the Mets scrappy players are scoring runs for him and you have an almost impossible hill to climb for an opposing team not named the Yankees.
R.A. has 2 one-hitters already this year, one of which should have been a no-no, with 2 complete games and a strikeout to walk ratio that is incredible at 116-25. I've seen Wakefield and other knucklers over the years and never has one been so dominant over a 16 game stretch that Dickey is on. Is it impossible to dream for a Mets fan that this may be the year that we have been waiting for since 2000? Johann Santana has already given us the first no-no in the teams history and now Dickey seems as if this is the reincarnation of Seaver. For a man with such a troubled past as Dickey has, he has seemingly come to grips with an area of his life that most will never figure out for themselves. He has clearly taken his turmoil and found what will work for him and translated that into his professional career as a pitcher.
Now Mets fans can only watch and wonder in amazement as hitters look absolutely dumbfounded and shake their head in amazement as they walk back to the dugout. They are now victims to a pitch that is incredibly RA-DICKULOUS to hit and even harder to understand. The Mets fans are enjoying this ride into the All-Star break relishing the fact that Dickey is one of their own and not the opponent. Believe!! Mets fans. This is going to be an Amazin' year as we watch this determined group of ballplayers led by the most dominant of knucklers the sport has ever seen.
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