Comments on: The Knuckleball

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:47:00 +0000

Well, He should definately be in the Hall of Fame for inventing one of the hardest to hit pitches. For him to be able to create somthing so genius, and insane. In my opinion that Hall of Fame Compatable!

By: Tyler

Tyler — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:06:00 +0000

I actually threw my knuckleball in high school and college using the original grip with the knuckles and not the fingertips. Pretty good one too.

By: PartiallyDeflected

PartiallyDeflected — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:28:00 +0000

and “knuckleball” is a complete misnomer – “fingernailball” would be more accurate

By: Alexander Ose

Alexander Ose — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:24:00 +0000

The physics of the knuckleball are actually much more nuanced (and in my opinion, more interesting!). It’s not simply a matter of being buffeted around by air currents or lacking any rotational stability.

The perfect knuckleball actually rotates one and a half times back towards the pitcher. During its journey to home plate, air will pass over each seam, causing many different patterns of drag and lift. This means that a knuckleball can actually break two or three times.

The air quality does, however, play a factor in how much the seams affect the flight of the ball. Humidity helps create more drag, as does a slight breeze towards the pitcher.

By: David K. Israel

David K. Israel — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:40:00 +0000

Correct. Though I’m not sure it’s accurate to say he invented the knuckleball.

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:49:00 +0000

I think it’s only fair to point out that despite being a pioneer and inventing the knuckleball, Eddie Cicotte is not in the Hall of Fame because he was one of the Black Sox.