The Knuckleballer

Saturday morning, JP's Dodgers played a doubleheader in Antioch at Pitts Park.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day for baseball and as we arrived and got out of my truck, I reveled in the brisk (almost) fall air.  The sky was cerulean blue with only a wispy cirrus cloud or two set out against the entirely blue skyscape.  

We've had so much rain lately, particularly on Saturdays, that it felt good to get out on the field and watch the boys start to warm up, knowing they would get two baseball games in for sure.  For the first time in a while, I felt a sense of normalcy.  Optimism, even.

In what was only their second game of the fall season - on the big field to boot - the boys played a reasonably tough team in game one and beat them 6 - 1.  JP had a client hit to center field, batting in the two hole, his first time up.  I was proud of him, as he's been working hard and hitting off the tee in the backyard almost every day.  

Porter pitched well and gave us just one run in two innings of work.  With the lead, I brought JP in to pitch next.  Facing the top of the order, he played with fire by allowing a couple of baserunners but got out of the inning without giving cup any runs.  I talked to him on the mound at one point and told him to calm down, as he was uncharacteristically showing a lot of emotion when a batter got on base or he didn't get a call he wanted from the umpire on a pitched ball.

The fourth inning as more of an adventure, as JP walked the bases full after retiring the first batter on a pop fly.  I noticed from my vantage point in the first base dugout that the runner on first was taking a huge head, so I casually lifted my baseball cap off my head, signaling JP to throw over to first base.  Sure enough, he caught the runner napping with a quick throw over and Wes put the tag on him for the second out of the inning.

Facing the tenth batter in the lineup, JP ran the count full before striking him out swinging.  Game over.  I was on the verge of bringing in the closer, Señor Smoke (Benton), but I was glad to see JP finish the game.

Game two was a bit of a laugher, as the boys beat their Creive Hall counterparts - the Dodgers - 14-4.  It was never close.  

The really cool thing and, frankly, the highlight of the day for me was how well Wes pitched.  I started him and he went three innings and, in truth, probably could have finished the game.

Wes is one of the Core Four, along with Jonathan, Benton, and JP - boys who have been with me from the very beginning, fall and spring for eight years.  That's hard to fathom, for me.  Really hard to fathom.  I've watched those boys grow up.  

Wes is a tall, quiet kid, but one with a wellspring of grit and determination.  He doesn't typically say a whole lot and he's pretty unemotional and even keeled, at least on the baseball field.  In truth, he's a lot like JP form a personality standpoint.  

Wes has been messing around with a knuckleball.  The boys said he was throwing in one of our last games of the spring/summer season but I didn't really believe them at the time.  

Then, at practice last week, I was warming up with Wes and he started throwing it.  To my surprise, he was able to take all of the spin off the baseball, though it wasn't really dancing of fluttering.  Still, for a 13 year old kid, it was pretty impressive.

Before our game against the Crieve Hall Dodgers on Saturday, I pulled the home plate umpire - Fernando - aside and told him Wes was likely to throw some knuckleballs.  With his baritone voice, he laughed loudly and shook his head.  "I'm serious," I continued.  "All right, all right," he said, shaking his head and smiling.

Sure enough, once the game started, Wes started throwing the knuckleball when he got ahead in the count.  And it was working!  If nothing else, it was an off speed pitch - one that acted like a changeup - and made his fastball look even faster.  Wes pitched the best I've ever seen him pitch, particularly in the first couple of innings.  

Before the last inning, I was talking to Fernando about Wes and the knuckleball.  "He's throwing it, all right," said Fernando.  "I told you," I replied.  

Laughing, Fernando said he could see the batters' knees buckling just a bit when Wes threw the knuckleball, not because it was moving but because it was coming in with no spin on it whatsoever.  The batters hadn't ever seen a pitch look like that and it confused them just enough to make it hard to hit.  

Wes didn't necessarily have much control over the knuckleball and I'm not sure he got any called strikes throwing it.  On one pitch, thought, Nico caught a knuckleball on the inside corner of home plate.  It was a strike, although Fernando paused, then called it a ball.  I could see him chuckling behind his umpire's mask, though, because he knew he has missed the call.  

The best part, though, was that when Wes threw a fastball immediately after a knuckleball, it looked to the batter like the pitch was coming in at 90 mph.  The contrast between the speeds of both pitches was intimidating.  

It was a good day for Wes.  Did I think when I started coaching him so many years ago that one Saturday, at age 13, he'd be throwing a knuckleball?  No.  

That's baseball.  And that's why I love these boys, every single one of them.