Baseball fans—and anyone who likes a good comeback story—will really enjoy Knuckleball, a new documentary that explores this confounding pitch through the eyes (and fingernails) of the two most recent players to throw it: Tim Wakefield, who retired from the Boston Red Sox after last season; and R.A. Dickey, who is having a Cy Young-caliber year for the New York Mets.
The movie makes clear that adopting the knuckleball is almost always a desperate move of last resort—both Wakefield and Dickey were on the verge of having their careers cut short before being saved by learning to throw this pitch. Dickey’s career, in fact, almost ended before it started—and therein is the insurance connection.
He was drafted in the first round in 1996 by the Texas Rangers and originally offered an $825,000 contract. But after a routine examination, it was discovered that his pitching elbow is missing its ulnar collateral ligament—doctors were amazed he could even turn a doorknob without pain let alone fire a fastball. As a result, the Rangers dropped the offer to a measly $75,000.
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