This offseason, we’re looking at the Mets’ history with free agency: their best uses of money and their worst. Number 10 was an unlikely pitcher who turned into one of the best performers during the late 1990s and early 2000s while also becoming one of the most underrated players in team history. We continue with another pitcher who pathed a unique road to stardom. The knuckleball...
This off-season, which already is nearly over, started like every other: scrambling for a job to bring in some money; savoring every minute with my wife, Emily, and family, and not letting up on my training. I’m still throwing my knuckleball every chance I get, even against my best friend, that brick wall. I’m not haunted by the uncertainty I’ve felt in some previous off-seasons, wondering where...
I know, I know: Everyone thinks they can throw a knuckleball. In baseball when you’re joking around with the guys you hear that all the time. Almost every single player has come up to me and said, “Check out my knuckleball.” I always say, “OK, now throw it 100 times in a row with a batter 60 feet, 6 inches away, knowing what pitch is coming.” It’s a fun pitch to mess around with. That’s what got...
It’s January as I write this, but when I think about baseball, it’s always May or June, the early part of the season when hopes are high, prospects bright, and anything is possible. I grew up in Northern Nevada, where early spring can come in cold and crisp. “Spring training,” no matter what level you’re playing at, no matter what age you are, never comes soon...
Mickey Jannis was initially selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 44th round of the 2010 draft out of California State University Bakersfield. He spent two seasons in the minors with Tampa Bay before he was cut loose. This was when he decided to transition to a knuckleballer, a pitch he had kept in his back pocket over the years after throwing it in college. Jannis caught on with the Lake Erie...
Traditionally, the Arizona Fall League is reserved for the top Double-A and Triple-A prospects in each organization. We’ve previously seen players like David Wright and Mike Piazza play in the Arizona Fall League. We see it again this season with top prospects like Kyle Tucker (Astros), Ronald Acuna (Braves), and Francisco Mejia (Indians). The list of players in the Arizona Fall League...
Let me say this right off the bat. I’m not writing this to sell people on the notion that R.A. Dickey has another Cy Young caliber season left in his right arm. I’m not writing this to try and convince people that Dickey the knuckleballer is a better rotation option than our five young aces, our newly emerging Triple-A starting depth, or our other 43 year old Big Sexy starting...
This is the T-Shirt Tuesday design for the April 23 game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, honoring Mets catcher John Buck. It bears a striking resemblance to Blitzen. In 31 plate appearances so far this season, Buck is batting .393/.387/.464 with four home runs and an NL leading 14 RBIs in eight games. Buck did not hit his fourth home run of the year last year until May 13 (25 games) and did not...
The stars were out at the New York Hilton Saturday night at the 90th annual Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) Dinner. This year’s award winners received their hardware, and of course, R.A. Dickey was the main event. Dickey took home the 2012 NL Cy Young Award and was honored with the BBWAA’s “Joe DiMaggio Toast of the Town” award for forging a special bond with the New York fans....
Yesterday, a trio of famous knuckleballers made their way to MLB’s FanCave to promote the movie “Knuckleball!” directed by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg. Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, former Red Sox Tim Wakefield, and the Mets’ R.A. Dickey all fielded questions about the movie as well as being a knuckleball pitcher in the major leagues. Metsmerized Online was invited to the event for a...
MetsBlog.com’s Matthew Cerrone posted pictures of R.A. Dickey’s throwing session. According to Cerrone, R.A. Dickey now has a new and improved knuckleball. We all seen last season that R.A. Dickey’s knuckleball was really nasty. Now, it looks like its only going to get even more nasty as it takes on the movement of a circle change which just dies at the plate. Cerrone says...
Before I get into the interview with R.A. Dickey from the Citi Field Kids Day on Wednesday, let me set up the situation. Dickey walks out with his customary beard but with an insane bro-flow going on. Listening to him speak made me feel like I was sitting in English Literature class. His appearance and eloquent speech would have made him a great English professor, which was his backup plan had...
