The Knucle Ball

[Halx]

Am I crazy? Does this pitch have absolutely NO spin to it?

Ok, i gotta say, I love Tim Wakefield's delivery because he hardly puts any effort into any of his pitches, and they are mostly brilliant.

Can someone explain the knuckle ball a little to me?

[Lebell]

Meh, more research:

http://wings.avkids.com/Book/Sports/...leball-01.html

Knuckleball

This is perhaps the hardest pitch to master. Not just for a pitcher, but for an aerodynamicist as well. Some believe that a knuckleball thrown without any spin will be at the mercy of any passing breeze. An thus, dances through the air in an unpredictable fashion. However, the most likely reason for the "dance" of a knuckleball is a very slow spin. Researchers have learned that a slight change in the orientation of the ball with respect to the flow of air results in dramatic changes in the forces acting on the ball. Not only does the magnitude of the force change, but the direction also changes. This is why the ball appears to "dance".

The mechanism by which the forces change magnitude and direction is not known. However, one can theorize that the stitches play a key role. The stitches will most likely cause the boundary layer to trip to a turbulent state. As we know, turbulent flow will stay attached longer than laminar flow. In fact, once the boundary layer becomes turbulent, a separated flow tends to reattach. This reattachment will dramatically alter the forces on the ball. Similarly, as the ball rotates, a region that was turbulent due to the position of the stitches, might now become laminar. The laminar flow will separate earlier than the turbulent flow. This altering of the state of the flow from laminar to turbulent, separated to attached, would cause the forces on the ball to fluctuate as shown by the experiments.

Furthermore, it is important to note that even if the pitcher throws the ball with no rotation, the flow asymmetry will cause the ball to rotate. The flow asymmetry is developed by the stitch pattern on a baseball.

My favorite knuckle ball pitcher, Charlie Hough, was so successful with it he played 25 seasons, from 1970 thru 1994.

[grumpyolddude]

http://www.oddball-mall.com/knuckleball/k101.htm

Looks like "knuckleball" is the name of a family of pitches. Supposed to be a slowly rotating ball.
The reaction of the air behind the ball causes the motion.

That slo-mo of Wakefield knuckler last night was simply amazing. It takes a lot of courage to toss that floater and hope for the best.

[Rudel73]

And it is nearly impossible to hit! They showed a slow motion of the knuckle ball it doesnt spin it just kind've floats to the plate! Its the only pitch that the pitcher has to worry about wind on!

[paddyjoe]

I think that one of the most amazing things about it, is the pitcher rarely knows where it's going!

I truly feel for the catcher. Loved the quote they showed from Bob Uecher last night, " The best way to catch the knuckleball is to wait for it to stop rolling, then pick it up."