"The best way to catch a knuckleball...

[TheMightyFavog]

...is to pick it up after it stops rolling." -- Bob Uecker

[longship]

1. Hoyt "Fucking" Wilhelm!!!

Hoyt Wilhelm

Here's a synopsis:

Wilhelm grew up in North Carolina, fought in World War II, and then spent several years in the minor leagues before starting his major league career at the age of 29. He was best known for his knuckleball, which enabled him to have great longevity. He appeared occasionally as a starting pitcher, but pitched mainly as a reliever. Wilhelm won 124 games, still the record for relief pitchers. He was the first pitcher to reach 200 saves, and the first to appear in 1,000 games.

Wilhelm was nearly 30 years old when he entered the major leagues, and pitched until he was nearly 50. He retired with one of the lowest career earned run averages, 2.52, in baseball history. After retiring as a player in 1972 Wilhelm held longtime coaching jobs with the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. He lived in Sarasota, Florida for many years, and died there in 2002.

And some Hoyt Wilhelm knuckleball color:

Orioles catchers had difficulty catching the Wilhelm knuckleball again in 1959 and they set an MLB record with 49 passed balls. During one April game, catcher Gus Triandos had four passed balls while catching for Wilhelm and he described the game as "the roughest day I ever put in during my life." Author Bill James has written that Wilhelm and Triandos "established the principle that a knuckleball pitcher and a big, slow catcher make an awful combination." Triandos once said, "Heaven is a place where no one throws a knuckleball."

Thanks for the inspiration for remembering Wilhelm.

[A HERETIC I AM]

2. I played little league when I was a kid....

And played third base for a while

We had a catcher that had a WICKED arm and threw the most unbelievable knuckle ball to me trying to throw out a guy stealing my base.

I’ll never forget how that ball looked as it came at me

It was an otherwise PERFECT throw, spot in target at my glove to tag the runner, but all I saw was the leading face of the ball, and a single band of the seam wobbling back and forth but with ZERO spin! It was probably unintentional in his part, but it freaked me out so much that I basically just watched it pass below my glove and into left field.

Needless to say, the Catcher was PISSED at me!

I am glad I never had one thrown at me as a batter

[Major Nikon]

3. My favorite Uecker quote

Despite the claim, Uecker was at one time a great knuckleball catcher.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. As A Catcher. . .

. . .he was considerably better than he pretended to be. The self-deprecation was an obvious part of his bit and charm.