Knuckler: My Life with Baseball's Most Confounding Pitch - Hardcover

Wakefield, Tim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0547517696 ISBN 13: 9780547517698

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011

Synopsis

At forty-four years old, Tim Wakefield is the longest-serving member of one of baseball’s most popular franchises. He is close to eclipsing the winning records of two of the greatest pitchers to have played the game, yet few realize the full measure of his success. That his career can be characterized by such words as dependability and consistency defies all odds because he has achieved this with baseball’s most mercurial weapon—the knuckleball.

Knuckler is the story of how a struggling position player bet his future on a fickle pitch that would define his career. The pitch may drive hitters crazy, but how does the pitcher stay sane? The moment Wakefield adopted the knuckleball, his career sought to answer that question. With the Red Sox, Wakefield began to master his pitch only to find himself on the mound in 2003 for one of the worst post-season losses in history, followed the next year by one of the most vindicating of championships. Even now, as Wakefield battles, we see the twists and turns of a major league career pushed to its ultimate extreme.

A remarkable story of one player’s success despite being the exception to every rule, Knuckler is also a lively meditation on the dancing pitch, its history, its mystique, and all the ironies it brings to bear.

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Photos of Tim Wakefield
(Click on Images to Enlarge)

At Triple-A Buffalo in 1992, Wakefield went 10-3 with a 3.06 ERA in 20 starts, earning a promotion to the major leagues. Photo courtesy of the Buffalo Bisons.

Wakefield's arrival in the majors was nothing short of a whirlwind, producing an 8-1 record and postseason heroics. Years later, Pirates manager Jim Leyland would describe Wakefield the rookie as "the Elvis Presley of the National League." Photo courtesy Dave Arrigo/Pittsburgh Pirates

Just before Wakefield's 43rd birthday in 2009, Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon selected Wakefield to his pitching staff to represent the American League in the 2009 All-Star Game. Wakefield joined (from left to right) closer Jonathan Papelbon, starter Josh Beckett, first baseman Kevin Youkilis and left fielder Jason Bay at the game. Photo courtesy Boston Red Sox

Book Description

HMH hardcover 2011Previous ISBN 978-0-547-51769-8

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0547517696
• ISBN 13: 9780547517698
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288