R.A. Dickey believes Cy Young Award victory will help propagate the knuckleball - MLB Update
New York Mets’ starting pitcher R.A. Dickey believes that one of the biggest impacts of the Cy Young Award that he has won will be the promotion of the knuckleball.
The fact Baseball Writers' Association of America has considered him for such an honour is itself an acknowledgment of the legality of the pitch.
Those who intend to make their career as knuckleballer can take heart from the fact that they can also reach such heights of success that Dickey has achieved. They can start working harder and try to do everything they can to improve their knuckleball.
It has not taken a day or two to master the throw for Dickey.
It took years for him to achieve an amazing precision in this pitch. At the start of his career, he struggled immensely. He was sent by the clubs to the Minors time-and-again due to his poor shows at the mound.
By and large, he was considered more a Minor League type of a hurler during a greater part of his career than someone who can spearhead the pitching department of the whole team.
In short, 2012 regular season can be taken as an exception in an otherwise fairly forgettable Major League journey by him.
It was extremely surprising for the world of baseball that he improved miraculously in the last season. The way he recorded an incredible number of wins and kept even the best batters of the game from scoring runs against him, it was highly unexpected by
the fans.
"It brings a real degree of legitimacy to the knuckleball fraternity. I'm glad to represent them, and I'm certainly grateful for all of those guys," Dickey said.
Dickey mentioned the fact that voters regarded the knuckleball as a great way to outwit hitters and strike them out.
"And that's a compliment to the vision and the imagination of the writers who voted. They didn't see the knuckleball as a trick pitch. They didn't see it as some kind of illegitimate weapon that you can use that isn't worthy. They saw it as a legitimate
weapon. It has one purpose, and that's to get big-league hitters out consistently,” Dickey stated.
Dickey awaits a contract extension from the Mets right now. He will be hoping the team decides on keeping him as opposed to being traded.
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