Knuckler: My Life With Baseball's Most Confounding Pitch (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
“Knuckler” is not for the story readers. It is very analytical which is the reason I enjoyed it. It reminds of the way I look at sports. I always look at them with stats. I never looked deep into the personalities behind the athlete. Don’t get me wrong that is always cool to learn the background of a certain athlete, especially the ones that come from rags to riches. This is not one of those stories. You actually barely learn the background of good ole Tim Wakefield. This book is all about the stats and the ups and downs of his career with the “most confounding pitch”, the knuckleball. It is very stat based so as I said before if you are not one that loves statistics like me, this book is not for you. This book includes outlandish stats that almost no one knows like the highest pitch count since 1990 was Tim Wakefield with 172 pitches with the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 27, 1993 against the Atlanta Braves which is astonishing that his arm did not fall off in the process. He also had another high pitch count total which was a 154 pitch outing. That is very is surprising that someone can throw that many pitches and have little effect on the arm. It also includes accolades that he earned like an All-Star appearance in 2009. He has also won two World Championships in 2004 and 2007. He also won the AL Comeback Player of the Year in 1995. His favorite award was winning the Roberto Clemente Award in 2010 which is giving to a player that helps the community and his team like the great Roberto Clemente did all the way up until he died. Tim Wakefield also won 200 career games in the end which is his most outstanding accomplishment with the pitch the pitch that brought him great happiness and sadness, the knuckleball. He then retired after 2011. I didn't know what to expect from this book. At the very least, it would be about baseball, which meant I would get through it no matter what, and at best, maybe I could be entertained and learn a lot about Wakefield, knuckleballs, or the Red Sox. It turned out that while the former was true, the latter definitely was not. This book essentially tells the story of Wakefield's career in what has to be the plainest way possible. Sure, there are quotes from him interjected throughout the book, but it really doesn't capture the kind of spirit and the kind of person that Wakefield is. Very disappointing.
What do You think about Knuckler: My Life With Baseball's Most Confounding Pitch (2011)?
I won a free copy of this book from Goodreads. I can't wait to receive and read it. Thank you.
—Beefone
My first Kindle book! Obtained via the Madison Public Library :)
—chazh84
