What is That Voodoo That You Do ~ The Knuckleball

Through the years we’ve seen oddball pitchers come-and-go in the major leagues, but Knuckleball pitchers always take the cake. From Eddie Cicotte to Charlie Hough to most recently Tim Wakefield, the Knuckleball still finds its way into the big leagues, and we’re still just as baffled today as hitters have been for over a century.

The knuckleball has it’s origins in the early 1900’s and there’s an article crediting Lew Moren as the creator of the pitch back in 1908. A more common perspective is that Ed “Knuckles” Cicotte invented it, if you don’t know Ed, he was one of the players blackballed from baseball for the 1919 Blacksox scandal, played by David Strathairn in 8 men Out.

Recently, Orioles Prospect, Mickey Jannis’s Knuckleball made it’s way onto an Edgertronic camera, and it’s eerie and magical at the same time.

Check it out below:

Mickey Jannis's Knuckeball on an Edgertronic camera.🦋🦋

Courtesy of @MickeyJannis pic.twitter.com/eqmuV0cAWr

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 15, 2021

He also takes the time to show us how to throw that voodoo pitch:

Mickey Jannis, Knuckleball grip. 🦋

Thanks very much to @MickeyJannis for passing it along! pic.twitter.com/cuTnvr9hzC

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 9, 2021

We believe the funniest part of the knuckleball is the catcher. If you watch any youtube knuckleball highlight reel, you’ll see the catcher, time and time again, missing the ball and having to run after it.

Check out the video below for a few minutes of fun.

Can you throw the knuckleball?

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~Drink Honorably