# Are there any knuckleball pitchers in MLB? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [August 30, 2026, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682 "2026-08-30T01:40:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/1 "2026-08-30T01:40:46Z")
Seems like a useful pitch to have on hand. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/2 "2026-08-30T01:42:50Z")
[Mark Waldron](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/waldrma01.shtml) is pitching poorly for San Diego. He’s the only one currently. Oops, he’s with the Nats now. It is a fairly tough pitch to control and it seems like most catchers struggle with it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/3 "2026-08-30T01:58:39Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > [Mark Waldron](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/waldrma01.shtml) is pitching poorly for San Diego. > He’s the only one currently. Oops, he’s with the Nats now. Matt Waldron. And, yeah, a 7.15 ERA across three teams this season, after a 7.71 ERA last season. I suspect he won’t be a major league pitcher for much longer at this rate. As noted, it’s a very difficult pitch to master and control (and takes a long time to learn), and in recent decades, the few pitchers who have thrown it have typically resorted to learning it out of desperation, due to lack of success throwing traditional pitches. Because there are so few current or former practitioners of the pitch available to teach it to a student, I suspect that it’ll continue to fade away. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/4 "2026-08-30T01:59:50Z")
The last two knuckleballers of any longevity were - Tim Wakefield 627 games, retired in 2011 - R. A. Dickey 400 games, retired in 2017 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/5 "2026-08-30T02:01:05Z")
And Phil Niekro was the best ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/6 "2026-08-30T02:02:55Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > - Tim Wakefield 627 games, retired in 2011 > - R. A. Dickey 400 games, retired in 2017 And Wakefield tragically died from cancer in 2023. Of the previous generation of successful practitioners of the pitch, Phil Niekro, Joe Niekro, and Wilbur Wood are all also dead, and Charlie Hough is now 78 years old (and apparently retired from coaching in 2010). There are few skilled knuckleballers still around to pass on the knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/7 "2026-08-30T02:27:59Z")
Too late to edit: i should have included Tom Candiotti on the above list. He’s still alive (age 69), and is an announcer for the Diamondbacks. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/8 "2026-08-30T02:47:49Z")
Not the same thing exactly but Jose Soriano of the Blue Jays throws a knuckle curve. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/9 "2026-08-30T02:49:30Z")
Really not the same, but MooseMike Mussina had a great one. * * * * * * If anyone ever does master the knuckleball again, the other big advantage is that it is easy on the arm. 200+ innings would be easy in a season. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/10 "2026-08-30T03:08:21Z")
but from what I understand, it’s hard to catch, so maybe more wild pitches/passed balls ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/11 "2026-08-30T03:09:46Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > but from what I understand, it’s hard to catch, so maybe more wild pitches/passed balls - No maybe about it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/12 "2026-08-30T03:11:05Z")
Literally already mentioned that. I mean, it was the 1st reply. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/13 "2026-08-30T03:16:58Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > No maybe about it. As Bob Uecker, who caught for Phil Niekro, famously said, “The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and pick it up.” ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/14 "2026-08-30T11:51:38Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > but from what I understand, it’s hard to catch, so maybe more wild pitches/passed balls I seem to recall Tim Wakefield had his own catcher, Doug Mirabelli, and he used a larger glove (I think designed for softball). Then the Red Sox traded Mirabelli, at which point Wakefield started throwing lots of wild pitches because the catchers couldn’t handle him. The Sox quickly traded to get Mirabelli back and he supposedly arrived at the park just minutes before Wakefield was scheduled to pitch. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/15 "2026-08-30T12:37:27Z")
I had a friend who was a big baseball fan. When his daughter was born, I told him to teach her the knuckleball. It seems to me a plausible way for a female to break the gender barrier in professional baseball. (Instead she became a triathlete. Oh well…I tried) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/16 "2026-08-30T12:42:06Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > The Sox quickly traded to get Mirabelli back and he supposedly arrived at the park just minutes before Wakefield was scheduled to pitch. He put on his gear in the car from the airport to Fenway, and was rushed out onto the field to catch the first inning. During the chaos he left his cup in the car and caught the first inning without one, which may be the craziest part of the whole day. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/17 "2026-08-30T16:51:16Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > During the chaos he left his cup in the car and caught the first inning without one, which may be the craziest part of the whole day. Thinking back to my rec league days: If he left his cup in the car, what was he drinking beer out of? ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/18 "2026-08-30T18:42:42Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > And Wakefield tragically died from cancer in 2023. Of the previous generation of successful practitioners of the pitch, Phil Niekro, Joe Niekro, and Wilbur Wood are all also dead, and Charlie Hough is now 78 years old (and apparently retired from coaching in 2010). Perhaps slightly previous to the previous generation was Hoyt Wilhelm. He was nearly 50 when he pitched his last game in 1972. “Before Wilhelm, the knuckleball was primarily mixed in to older pitchers’ repertoires at the end of their careers to offset their slowing [fastballs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fastball "Fastball") and to reduce stress on their arms, thereby extending their careers. Wilhelm broke with tradition when he began throwing the pitch as a teenager and threw it nearly every pitch.[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoyt_Wilhelm#cite_note-SABR-4) _[The New York Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times "The New York Times")_ linked his knuckleball with that of modern pitcher [R. A. Dickey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._A._Dickey "R. A. Dickey"), as Wilhelm taught pitcher [Charlie Hough](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Hough "Charlie Hough") the knuckleball in 1971, and Hough taught it to Dickey while coaching with the [Texas Rangers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Rangers_(baseball) "Texas Rangers (baseball)").[[51]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoyt_Wilhelm#cite_note-grandfather-52)” - [Hoyt Wilhelm - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoyt_Wilhelm) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/19 "2026-08-30T18:45:59Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Perhaps slightly previous to the previous generation was Hoyt Wilhelm. He was nearly 50 when he pitched his last game in 1972. As I understand it, Wilhelm also taught the pitch to Wilbur Wood. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682/20 "2026-08-30T18:50:37Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > If anyone ever does master the knuckleball again, the other big advantage is that it is easy on the arm. 200+ innings would be easy in a season. Jim Bouton said it’s “like having a catch with your sister.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-knuckleball-pitchers-in-mlb/1032682.md?page=2)