R.A. Dickey discusses knuckleball success with David Letterman and does a demonstration – MLB News
Following his scoreless outing on Tuesday in the All-Star game, the New York Mets’ knuckleballer R.A. Dickey showed up in a late night show hosted by David Letterman on Wednesday. It was organised to have a chat with Dickey and to have an insight of how
he transformed himself from a mediocre starter to an All-Star competitor.
Dickey explained how he started his quest toward becoming a quality knuckleballer. He shared feelings about his initial setbacks and how he was treated by various organisations in the beginning of his career.
Furthermore, he expressed the desire to see his present club reaching new heights this year.
Meanwhile, such a tremendous success that Dickey has achieved now is something no one could predict when he made his Major League debut.
Similarly, by the time he was signed by the Mets, they never thought that he is going to become their most successful pitcher.
Although they knew Dickey had matured after years of presence in the baseball arena and therefore would be improved as a starter. However, expecting him to surpass their ace Johan Santana in terms of strike-outs and wins was never a part of their imagination.
In this context, the host of the show, Letterman put various questions to Dickey. In response, Dickey was candid while giving few interesting answers.
At the same time, he was upbeat to carry the momentum forward in the second half.
During the show, Dickey tried to teach how to throw knuckleballs to Letterman. He stood up to simulate the scenario of the game and threw few knucklers. On this, the host was impressed and was intrigued to ask the following question.
Letterman asked, “Are you squirting the ball out, or are you just letting it come out (with) the momentum?”
To this, Dickey replied, “I would say that the sensation I feel when I throw a really good one, is like it pops out. It doesn’t feel like a squirt, but a popping.”
Right now, Dickey will be preparing for his upcoming starts in the season. To continue his present success, he will be making sure that he does not get carried away.
One will hope that his knucklers keep working the same way in the second half just as they did in the first.
Tags: