New York Mets’ R.A. Dickey calls Cy Young victory as triumph for knuckleballers - MLB Update
R.A. Dickey explains that the Cy Young honour earned by him is a victory for all those pitchers who have been throwing the knuckleball.
It is unusual in Major League Baseball that a knuckleballer clinches such a prestigious award.
The use of the knuckleball is prevailing for the last many decades but hardly any pitcher ever dominated in a whole Major League regular season based on it.
There have been successes achieved by the knuckleballers but none was as outstanding as Dickey.
In short, Dickey has opened up a new chapter in baseball history by showing the emerging pitchers that there are more ways to be a dominant hurler than they are told traditionally.
He is bound to leave an impact on the next generation of pitchers. Efforts will be directed by the coaches now toward helping the pitchers diversify their repertoire of skills.
The knuckleball will be given far more importance now than it earned previously.
Dickey is hopeful that he will be awarded a contract extension by the New York Mets during the offseason.
Since conclusion of 2012 season, there have been talks whether the Mets will acknowledge his incredible performance by giving him a contract renewal or not.
“I feel good about being a Met, I do,” Dickey said. “That might be my youthful optimism because I also understand as a veteran and someone who’s played for a while, it’s part of the business of baseball. But I’m fairly confident … I can’t put a percentage
on it, but I can certainly say I believe the Mets are going to be a lot better and I want to be part of the solution.”
While the Mets’ officials love to keep Dickey in their club-house, financial limitations may not allow them to do so. The option of sending him to another organisation in exchange for outfielders and infielders is an equally enticing one for them.
Dickey right now has an immense trade value, which means that the clubs interesting in acquiring him will be willing to sacrifice their top prospects in order to have him on their roster.
It will be interesting to see as to which option the Mets exercise regarding Dickey.
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