R.A. Dickey and the Physics of the Knuckleball
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- čas přidán 28. 06. 2024
- Creator: Matt
Twitter: / srsmatt
Experiment - iopscience.iop.org/article/10...
The knuckleball is wack.
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We're fans of some well-executed knuckleballs
Even the Astros couldn’t hit it
MLB oh hey baseball
You know it’s a good video if the MLB comments on it
One thing Astros can’t hit
Yes, but I was under the impression that Dickey threw a no hitter on June 13th, 2012. Is that true?
Bob Uecker: "The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up."
7:04 it shows vortex shedding but he says shredding
Funny I put dudes on their heals with the knuckle
"Just a bit outside! He tried the corner and missed."
Lol
@@mikelbowers1366 heels, u aren't pitching against medics afaik
Wait, I thought I had Physics 2nd period
What's cyana award
This is the man that kept Josh Thole (Catcher) employed
TheLeftSide like how Tim Wakefield kept Doug Mirabelli employed
Bartolo Colon is absolutely one of the wonders of baseball
He put big, fat guys on the map! Yeah. He even made behind the back tosses to get a runner.
@@rexyoshimoto4278 and dude could hit!
Great video SRS! I've been a proud subscriber for the last year, and I've loved all the content! Keep it up!
Means a lot coming from you! Thanks a ton! ❤️
@@StarkRavingSports k
Dickey’s autobiography Wherever I wind up is absolutely amazing. Such a great guy
We need more knuckleballers in baseball.
I'm really suprised he didn't mention Phil Niekro aka "knucksie", or Tim Wakefield from Boston
@@matthewlewis9996 Or Jim Bouton, or Hoyt Wilhelm or Eddie Cicotte (his 1919 notoriety, notwithstanding)
In real baseball, absolutely. Not the show though
I have a 13 yr son that throws a knuckle, he even throws it while throwing longtoss. It's fun to see batters reactions.
We need more baseballers in knuckle.
“just look for the seams and hit between them.” -harmon killebrew on how to hit a knuckleball
These are the most important physics I ever Learned.
I remember playing catch with my dad, after dinner. It was an everyday thing growing up. And the first time he throw me a knuckler. I remember looking at him like he just throw magic at me.
MTG?
@@MystninjaNah, like the "pull a rabbit out of a hat kind of magic.
Last time I seen a rabbit in a hat. I was like. Hey where did you get that hat. Then it hoped away.
@@Mystninja = OMG, Last time I saw a rabbit, it was playing MTG. What are the odds¿?
It is magic..in my case it was a shoulder injury that made me push the ball instead of flinging it.. I LOVED watching people just jump out of the path of it because they always just knew it was going to bean them.. lol
When one reads "Ball Four" by Jim Bouton, you'll see how much opposition coaches have to pitchers developing the knuckleball. It's a pitch you have to be totally dedicated to. And now with the heavy reliance on sabermetrics, it would be challenging for a knuckleball pitcher to get the innings necessary and the trust of a manager to be a starting pitcher and downright impossible to be a reliever.
Or the increased reliance on analytics and the improved technology could make it easier for pitchers to develop a knuckleball. When no one knew how it worked, coaches didn't wanna spend the time trying to figure it out but now that we know the physics behind it, it will be easier to teach.
Do you recommend reading "Ball Four"? Jw surprisingly never heard of it
MooN SwaN I’ll recommend it.
I'm Brazilian and I absolutely lost it at the pombo sem asa reference
Hue hue hue
É curioso pq o efeito que ele se refere é o da "folha seca", que o Juninho pernambucano, Júnior, Beckham e o Petkovic são famosos por executar. O pombo sem asa é geralmente usado pra ilustrar um chute reto e muito forte, como os do Roberto Carlos (mas esse fazia umas absurdas que era mais como um slider, como a falta contra a França) e do Adriano.
@@retrorami exato kkk o folha seca é o que ele se refere, pombo sem asa a bola vai forte pra kct sem curva, reto e subindo. Se quisermos relacionarmos ao baseball seria a mítica rising fastball que faz a ilusão de que está subindo, porém não está.
Brazil needs to step up their baseball game.
I want to root for stars from Curritaba and Brasilia.
The documentary Dickey was featured in (I think it’s actually called “Knuckleball”) is worth a watch. The knuckleball is a pitch for survival. It’s the pitch people work on when they’re on the verge of getting cut.
The knuckleball will always be a baseball gem, especially in OOTP. Great vid guys!
I'm really proud of you
We love you Sadman
To add a little more context, lift force is created by 2 factors, airspeed and pressure difference. In the case of a plane, the wing is shaped in a specific way with a curved top of the wing and semi-flat bottom of the wing where the back of the wing points down. The air adheres to the curve at the top of the wing and speeds up. Two things happen because of this: 1. Since the airspeed on the bottom of the wing is slower than the airspeed on the top, the air pressure below the wing is higher than the air pressure above it(basically the air on the bottom of the wing is pushing the wing up more than the air on the top of the wing is pushing the wing down). This means that lift force is created in the upward direction. 2. Since the back of the wing is pointed downward, the fast air coming off of the wing is pointed in a downward direction, also adding to the lift force(newton's third law, all actions have an equal and opposite reaction. The air is pointed down, so it exerts an opposite force on the plane). Now to put that into perspective on a baseball, when a baseball spins, it creates a pressure difference between the sides of the ball by accelerating air in the direction of the spin(creating lower pressure) and by decelerating air on the opposite side of the ball(creating higher pressure. I definitely suggest looking up an image for this because it makes it much clearer.), leading the ball to travel in the direction that has lower pressure. The reason a knuckle ball is confusing is because despite not spinning, it moves erratically. (Also im not an expert in aerodynamics either, I just have tried to study it in my free time, so if anyone more experienced in that field would like to correct me or add to what i said, I would really appreciate it!)
5:20: “So I’m walking a path with guardrails on either side of me” Idk but to me it looks more like you’ve got a dude violently vibrating trying to avoid the fences. Like the worst game of operation I’ve ever seen.
and he did all this while missing the most important tendon in his arm.
Dudeman9339 actually makes it easier to throw a knuckleball. He’s not able to spin it or really throw with force
Nate Watkins Is that why he was able to throw up to 80mph?
It's pronounced Charlie Huff.
The knuckleball specialist.
This was my primary pitch in high school too. I’ve watched every video on the pitch that exists on CZcams and I love learning more about it. Great video!
I've gotten pretty good at throwing the knuckleball recently, been working on it for little over a year. Thank you for covering this lesser-known topic!
No lie, the Knuckle ball is my favorite thing in baseball. I LOVE it. Greetings from The Netherlands.
Ghostdialoog hey didi
Great stuff! Thanks for putting this together!
I thought this was going to explain the knuckleball not give me a math lesson
Never thought I’d come across physics topics I’ve learned in school this year, but here we are
When I was a kid in the mid 1950s, my friends and I bought Whiffle Balls and used to goof around throwing all sorts of pitches. I picked up the knuckler and it was almost impossible to catch. The Whiffle ball did what a baseball would do but much more intensive. I found a rising fastball, a ‘drop ball’, curves and other weird applications. Later in Babe Ruth League I was a sometimes pitcher with a fastball that wasn’t fast and a change up that was not much slower than my fastball. One day I decided to throw a knuckler and the manager came out to yell at me. So that was the only one I threw. (We were not allowed anything but fastballs and change ups.)
Explaining the physics of the knuckleball is like trying to nail jello to the wall.
One big difference between Dickey and other k-ballers was he consistently threw it at a higher velocity (77-80 MPH), which gave the hitter less time to track the pitch as it came into the plate. Another fun fact and probably the most intriguing: 𝑹𝑨 𝑫𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝑼𝑪𝑳 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒍𝒃𝒐𝒘. Yes, you read that right, hence the bold font. This is a ligament that when torn or damaged can end a baseball career. It's also crucial to even turn a doorknob. Since Dickey didn't have the ligament and nobody told him he didn't have one or that he needed it for his arm to function normally, he just grew up as if it was there the whole time. Not only that, but he pushed the envelope and fooled his arm into pitching in professional baseball. Of course, he wasn't really fooling his arm because as I said, nobody knew his UCL wasn't there;.until draft day that is. The Texas Rangers drafted him 18th overall and offered him a $800K signing bonus. Well, seems some nosy, buzzkill doctor who should have minded his own beeswax called the Rangers and said: "Hey, would you make me the team doctor and pay me a sh|t ton of money if I told you a secret about your bigtime first rounder? I saw a photo of that kid and his arm looked strange. I suggest you send him in for some testing." OK, I made the part up about the MD wanting to be the team doctor (as far as I know), but the Rangers did listen to him and promptly followed his advice. Of course, you know the outcome. Rangers: "Hey Dickey! Not only should you not be able to pitch, but you shouldn't even be able to groom yourself with that arm! You tricked us and we aren't happy!" After finding out that RA had no idea his UCL was missing, they weren't as mad but they did drop their signing offer to $75K. What a sucker punch to the gut that was for RA. However, instead of hunting down said loud mouth doctor and whacking him like Morrie, he signed the offer with no bitterness and as we know, he went on to become the best K-baller in baseball for a few years and the only one to ever win a Cy Young. In that season, he was 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA. He pitched 233 innings, struck out 233, had 5 complete games and 2 shutouts.
Yeah, the squirrely movement of a knuckleball is mind bending, but getting it to move like that at 78 MPH is mind blowing. Yes, other K-ballers could hit those velocities, but not on a regular basis and it would also flatten the pitch out, which wasn't good. While the knuckleball isn't supposed to move as erratically at the upper range, with Dickey, that wasn't the case. It was this that separated him from the rest. But, he unbelievably (and contradictory to the pitch he was throwing) had great control as well and didn't walk many hitters. Oh and I guess that missing a UCL might have had something to do with it too. DIckey retired very recently in 2017 at age 42. I have no doubt that he could go right back out there and pitch again with his rubber arm.
7:05 You kept saying 'vortex shredding' when you even showed the name in print as 'vortex shedding'. This phenomenon is the detachment of airflow from a non-streamlined surface. Otherwise, great video!
Understanding knuckleball mechanics is one of the problems that inspired me to major in Mech & Aero Engineering in college. I finally figured it out in my senior year when I took my 2nd semester fluid dynamics class. It has everything to do with Reynolds Number and vortex shedding, so it's too bad the video didn't discuss that.
Just took fluid mechanics last year
I'm a huge mets fan and when he was with us he was amazing in 2012. But he was such a humble , really humble, and appreciative guy to be where he was. The trade was worth it for both mets and Jays.
As a Twins fan, some of us were looking at his advanced stats and kinda thought a breakout might be coming. He gave up a lot of homeruns, but otherwise, he wasn't giving up a ton of hits. Also, part of the problem was perception. He was a reliever here, and would often come in with 2 on and no one out. Knuckleballers do tend to give up flyballs if the pitch doesn't move much, so those guys would score on sac flies. I was not surprised by his success and I was happy for him.
Great Video. Some years ago, I use to follow Russ Springer of the CA Angels throw the knuckleball. He said he was failing his mechanics and ask Phil Niekro and Charlie Hough what he was doing wrong. They told him to throw slower. 65 and slower. As he did, his knuckler became better.
Never pitched but i did play Volleyball and was a jump float specialist at the serve line. That's our knuckleball. (Im early in the vid sorry if he mentions that later)
My whole schtick was making the ball drop/stop. I didn't really know what i was doing at first but as i got better and got more control it got really deadly.
I assume (based on the sports mentioned) it has to do with speed and distance.
In tennis, basketball, etc. Its either very hard to move the ball without spin (like in tennis), or the ball rarely moves far enough for the effect to kick in.
The float serve is still fast albeit no where near as fast as top spin jumpers. Knuckleballs still can hit 70+ mph. Idk cricket or soccer info but i can presume its the same.
You guys make amazing videos. Definitely deserve more subscribers. Thank you for your great content!
Found it really helpful in my daughters physics class. Thanks a lot for putting this together.
The reason R.A.Dickey's knuckleball was so effective is the very same reason he walked so few batters during his fifteen year career. Dickey's knuckleball was thrown right at the top of the optimal spectrum (67-78MPH) averaging 79 MPH.
It's crazy to think a baseball moving sixteen MPH slower than a 95 MPH fastball with no spin, could be so damn effective. Physics is truly astounding.
I subbed right after your 5 wonders of baseball. Nice work
Dickeys warm up music with the Jay's was the theme to game of thrones.
A fantastic video with clear explanations that was super great!
Wilbur Wood, knuckleduster, won 20 games four years in a row from 1971-1974 starting 184 games in those four years. ERA's of 1.91, 2.51, 3.46 & 3.60 during that stretch. Arguably the greatest stretch of knuckleballing in MLB history.
Ra’s life and journey is amazing
Thanks for making this video!
Thank you for that Indep look at the physics of the knuckle ball. Very interesting. Nice work
Thank you for this 🙏
This is exactly what I needed for quarantine. Physics and baseball in one? Perfect.
I had a friend in a slow pitch softball league that had a knuckle ball. It would always look like it was going to go long but then just dropped from the sky and hit the strike zone. He could strike out batters with it, and in slow pitch softball that is pretty amazing.
It actually did make my day to learn about Pambo se asa. That's a really pretty name, great descriptor too. Thanks!
Can’t be a baseball video without some shade thrown at the Astros
Loved the vid man, I actually used to throw the knuckleball throughout highschool, it was my favorite pitch, I used it almost exclusively
great vid. Charlie Hough is pronounced “huff” not “hugh” but a 99% is a good score. thanks for the great vids, ton of work you put in.
Hock
who’s hype for the mlb season to start
Gabe Seldin meeee!😁
Gabe Seldin
YESS BABY
Imma cubs fan but I’m going to Oakland’s home opener vs the Astros to bring a garbage can and boo!
(I was already going to the Bay Area for vacation over spring break)
As a dodger fan that dropped 60k in 2017, 2018 for WS tickets and got cheated. I was happy they got eliminated quick.. I can’t afford it..
Cubs MLB Perfect Inning Gaming go to Angel stadium too. It will be 90% Dodger fans to BOO the Eff out of them.. I hope we trash the field like 10 cent beer night but without the beer. if 10k people started to throw trash on the field, they’ll let the inmates (us) run the asylum (Angel Stadium).
Marty McFly • 128 years ago i’ll be in new york cheering on my nats
One of the key factors HAS to be that it's played outdoors. Minor changes in wind must facilitate more extreme and chaotic movement. In volleyball you get massive knuckling but that's because the ball is often hit with little to no spin, I would guess that outdoor volleyball has even more severe chaotic motion.
interesting coincidence that my 5 wonders of baseball are exactly the same as yours
Love the Brazilian reference. My favorite Portuguese word is beija-flor. It is the word for hummingbird, but directly translates to flower kisser.
Real Radio Reingold: Jim was a pitcher for his high school team in Palatka so he knows all about this stuff.
Great video m8. Only thing you got wrong is that the brazilian expression is "pombo SEM asa" (dove without wings) rather than "pombo se asa" (dove if wing). Minor detail tho, keep up the good job. Cheers from Brazil
Never batted against a knuckleballer but I was a catcher for one in high school and man was it a sight to see. Almost every pitch would just blow your mind.
This is very very well done
Thanks for that excellent video lesson. Earned a sub.
"How cool is the term Vortex Shredding?"
Uhh it said vortex shedding but hey yk small details
Wondered if this comment would be here
Excellent presentation! I loved the math and science! I don't even like baseball, but the oddities of the sport are quite fascinating! Thanks!
well done. Did you also do anything on how they hold the ball and release it? Or aim? Or whether they can throw it sidearm or only overhead? Thanks, good job.
I've seen many knuckleball pitchers play through the years from Phil Niekro to former Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright. It's always been fascinating how well those pitchers have been able to throw that pitch effectively for the most part, how few pitchers today are able to throw it.
as a soccer player absolutely obsessed with the knuckleball, its cool to see it in other sports. mad props to anyone who can master it in any sport. it is an elusive creature but so gratifying when executed correctly
great video. thanks
I'm an Aussie new to baseball. This was a very good video. Well done.
I remember going to Citi Field to see Dickey pitch against the Phillies in 2011. This was after years of being tortured by the late 2000s Mets, so it was nice to finally enjoy baseball again.
I had high ceilings in my living room as a kid, no friends, no dad, home alone.. playing catch with myself, throwing knuckle balls only.
😔
thanks for reminding me of the nightmare of college math shit. great video
Excellent video. I love knuckleballers! (Willie Hernandez, Detroit Tigers 1984)
The knuckling effect for baseballs and cricket balls is due to the seams. With volleyballs and soccer balls it is due mostly due to the compressive force of the strike not only deforming the ball but also the collision of the air inside the bladder rebounding against the inside walls of the ball...coupled with the seams on the outside. Any rotation of the ball evens these out so when the ball is struck hard without much rotation the effect is much more pronounced. If you kick an american football without much rotation you will also see this dual effect which causes it to knuckle, causing missed field goals and dropped punts.
I’ve seen it happen in hockey. The knuckle puck is not a thing. But I’ve had a puck shot flat faced accidentally and it went all over like a knuckle ball.
Good video with all the all the technical information for support - interesting. The only thing I was thinking about was all the knuckle ball pitchers I have seen over the years. I signed up for Little League in 1956 and was a big baseball fan ever since- baseball was the only youth sport league in those days.
As a lover of baseball and the Brazilian culture, I appreciate the Portuguese lesson! awesome vid
Love the video. Wish you the best buddy
Love this vid
Every other pitch has a spin rate, which could act as a gyroscope, helping the ball to retain it's tracking and stability as it flies through the air. Mr. Knuckler has no gyro action and cuts through the air at it's own whims.
The knuckle ball is hypnotic looking at it while your batting. For example.... its coming at you and in your head you say that's a knuckle ball lol and then you strike out!!
Damn suttle shade thrown. I love it
Bro he was so much fun to watch when he was with the Mets, I’m a Mets fan so of course I loved R.A. Dickey
Phil Niekro didn't understand all this science, I'm sure, but he did say that the best knuckleball rotates 1-2 times on the way to the plate. Knowing now that the rotation exposes different faces to the drag force and the different faces will affect the drag differently and then move the ball differently, sure is nice.
Tim Wakefeild.
The best knu kleballs in history.
Just to add something to the fun fact about "pombo sem asa", actually a "pombo sem asa" is a very strong kick that seems like it's going up and straight, no curves, no zigzags, and with a rising trajectory, it hits the upper part of the net. The football kick knuckleball here it's actually called "folha seca" (translated as dry leaf... dont ask me why haha), when the ball has no rotation and does this zigzag movement.
Thanks for this
It should be pointed out that when Dickey won the CYA, he was 38 years old. The d’Arnaud/Syndergaard trade was a no-brainer at the time for both teams. The Mets, as you point out, were “rebuilding” and the Blue Jays were in a “win now” situation. As a fellow Mets fan, I was all for it.
0:48 had me wiping my screen
Lmao. Glad I'm not the only one. I was so confused haha
Works for a football too. Throw it like a softball pitch with no spin it's crazy how it moves.
This helped me with my science fair thx!
I had a knuckleball that started in the middle of the strike zone on my pitching net when I released the ball and ended bouncing on the plate at the end of the pitch
I think this is the 3rd time I’ve watched this. So good.
One thing I learned from watching RA Dickey is that the knuckleball giveth and taketh. When it is on, it is on but when it isn't, get the bullpen ready.
Overjoyed at the volleyball reference. The vb iteration of the knuckleball (“float serve”) could be a vid on its own
Being a left-handed pitcher with the knuckleball coaches love me
Was ready to argue the five wonders of baseball until you listed them
@ 7:45 BURN!!!! Well played good sir!
Loved the trash can reference 7:39
damn srs out here giving us math lessons
I love hitting knuckleballs in the show sooooo much
He and Tim Wakefield. The best two knucklers in recent memory.
And Hoyt Wilhelm of the White Sox many years ago. And the Niekro Bros, my Ohio boys!
Do dig the video of Charlie Hough @ 4:52
He was the Bartolo of the early 90's.
This was very awesome. I swear, if science was explained more through sports, rather than abstract examples, a lot more people would understand it. Great job.
First things first: it's pombo SEM asa, second of all, we call it "folha seca" too bc it reminds us of the movement of a dry leaf (literal translation) falling into the ground.