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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

R.A. Dickey on ‘Winding Up’ As The Mets’ Knuckleball Pitcher

Knuckleballs, missing UCLs, abuse, and almost drowning:

After transitioning to the knuckleball, Dickey gave up six runs in his first start of the 2006 season, tying a modern-era baseball record. He was demoted to the minors in Oklahoma, where after a game one night, he decided to swim across the Missouri River — a big, fast-moving waterway with a lot of undertow. Five minutes into the swim, Dickey realized he was in big trouble.

“Every stroke was a determined stroke to try to survive an experience where I [thought that I] may drown,” he says. “I had given myself over to the fact that this was it, I wasn’t going to make it. The undertow was pulling me down.”

Dickey’s feet hit the bottom of the Missouri just as he was about to open his mouth and take a breath underwater. He bounced up and dog-paddled toward the side, where a teammate plucked him from the water.

Craig in MN Posted: April 11, 2012 at 03:30 PM | 25 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: books, mets

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1. Barry`s_Lazy_Boy Posted: April 11, 2012 at 04:26 PM (#4104356)

Interesting story.

2. Der_K Posted: April 11, 2012 at 05:08 PM (#4104393)

I've been caught in undertow - luckily, I smacked into an object after sometime underwater (maybe 30 feet from my starting point? I dunno, I was young) and was able to stabilize my position or I'm likely not typing this now.
Anyway, it's terrifying.

3. Athletic Supporter gangnam style Posted: April 11, 2012 at 05:22 PM (#4104406)

After transitioning to the knuckleball, Dickey gave up six runs in his first start of the 2006 season, tying a modern-era baseball record.

????

4. Mark S. is bored Posted: April 11, 2012 at 05:34 PM (#4104417)

After transitioning to the knuckleball, Dickey gave up six runs in his first start of the 2006 season, tying a modern-era baseball record.

????

Bad research and reporting. Dickey gave up 7 runs and 6 home runs in his first start of the 2006 season. I'm guessing that the 6 home runs is the modern-era record he tied.

5. Fernigal McGunnigle has become a merry hat Posted: April 11, 2012 at 05:48 PM (#4104428)

Bad research and reporting. Dickey gave up 7 runs and 6 home runs in his first start of the 2006 season. I'm guessing that the 6 home runs is the modern-era record he tied.

Correct, tied with 7 other players:

Player                     Date  Tm Opp    Rslt  IP  R HR
James Shields        2010-08-07 TBR TOR L 11-17 4.0  8  6
R.A. Dickey          2006-04-06 TEX DET L  6-10 3.1  7  6
Tim Wakefield        2004-08-08 BOS DET  W 11-9 5.0  7  6
George Caster     1940-09-24(1) PHA BOS L  8-16 2.1  9  6
Bill Kerksieck    1939-08-13(1) PHI NYG L  2-11 4.0  7  6
Tommy Thomas         1936-06-27 SLB NYY L  6-10 9.0 10  6
Sloppy Thurston   1932-08-13(1) BRO NYG  W 18-9 9.0  9  6
Larry Benton         1930-05-12 NYG CHC W 14-12 6.2  9  6 

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/11/2012.

"Sloppy Thurston" is my new favorite baseball name. If Beckett had only grooved one more pitch against Detroit, he could have joined this illustrious company, been sloppy like Sloppy.

Dickey made the worst start I've ever seen in person -- 2 IP and 8 earned runs, and he looked worse than that.

6. Perry Posted: April 11, 2012 at 05:48 PM (#4104429)

I'll assume the story is true and it's just a bit of sloppy writing that seems to place the Missouri River in Oklahoma. He must have been on a road trip in Omaha or something.

7. morineko Posted: April 11, 2012 at 05:52 PM (#4104434)

It's even worse reporting: he was a Nashville Sound at the time, on a road trip to Omaha, staying on the Iowa side of the river, in 2007.

8. Mark S. is bored Posted: April 11, 2012 at 05:54 PM (#4104435)

It's even worse reporting: he was a Nashville Sound at the time, on a road trip to Omaha, staying on the Iowa side of the river, in 2007.

Did the author get anything right? Are we sure that R.A. Dickey really exists?

9. Why Bloody Valdespin? Posted: April 11, 2012 at 06:02 PM (#4104441)

It's an article accompanying an interview Dickey did with Terry Gross' stand-in for Fresh Air. Not a bad interview if you have a half hour to kill.

10. SuperGrover Posted: April 11, 2012 at 06:17 PM (#4104446)

Why the #### would anyone try to swim across the Missouri?

As someone who lived on the Missouri (and it's tributary, the Osage), let me tell you that you do not want to mess with that river. It's a bad mother.

11. Accent Shallow Posted: April 11, 2012 at 06:21 PM (#4104449)

If you're not a good swimmer, stay the #### out of the water.

12. Downtown Bookie

Posted: April 11, 2012 at 06:28 PM (#4104455)

Why the #### would anyone try to swim across the Missouri?

For the same reason, I imagine, that someone would want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

DB

13. Sunday silence Posted: April 11, 2012 at 06:48 PM (#4104465)

to do bong hits w/ Heile Selassie?

14. Perry Posted: April 11, 2012 at 06:51 PM (#4104468)

If you're not a good swimmer, stay the #### out of the water.

I suspect people who aren't good swimmers know enough to do this; it's people who ARE good swimmers who die trying to swim dangerous rivers like the Missouri or Mississippi, which can defeat even the strongest swimmers.

15. jyjjy Posted: April 11, 2012 at 06:53 PM (#4104469)

If you're not a good swimmer, stay the #### out of the water.

Then how would you learn to be a good swimmer?

16. Benji Posted: April 11, 2012 at 06:55 PM (#4104471)

Love RA, but using this thread to ask, or implore:

WILL SOMEBODY CLOSE THAT ####### GATE??????

17. Benji Posted: April 11, 2012 at 06:56 PM (#4104472)

double post

18. JE (Jason Epstein)

Posted: April 11, 2012 at 06:58 PM (#4104476)

It's even worse reporting: he was a Nashville Sound at the time, on a road trip to Omaha, staying on the Iowa side of the river, in 2007.

Why the #### would anyone try to swim across the Missouri?

For the same reason, I imagine, that someone would want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Had Dickey's offseason hike been mentioned, no doubt the author would have placed Kilimanjaro in between the 7 train and the Corona Ice King.

19. Dale Sams Posted: April 11, 2012 at 07:03 PM (#4104479)

And when I came out of the river, I ended up going 11-2 with a 2.80 ERA and became the Pacific Coast League pitcher of the year. I think when I came out of the river, I was so consumed with just wanting to live in the present well — wanting to enjoy every second — that I think that carried over directly into my pitching, and I just cared about each pitch singularly. ... And I decided that that's how I wanted to live my life."

Too bad X-Files isn't on anymore.

"This week, a body is discovered after lying on the bottom of a river for six years. Scully and Mulder must find out who, or...what... swam out of the river that night."

20. The Clarence Thomas of BBTF (scott) Posted: April 11, 2012 at 07:19 PM (#4104492)

He mentions that no one wants to grow up to be a knuckleballer... I wanna grow up to be a knuckleballer!

21. WillYoung Posted: April 11, 2012 at 08:35 PM (#4104527)

I remember having dinner one night at a restaurant along the Missouri River just north of the Mormon Bridge with my grandparents and family. My cousin jokingly said, "There goes a dead body," as a log floated quickly by. The following day, the World Herald had a story about people at the restaurant, about five minutes after we left, who spotted a body floating by and reported it to the police.

Anyway, I listened to the interview on my drive home last night and it was very, very good.

22. Jason Michael(s) Bourn Identity Crisis Posted: April 11, 2012 at 11:10 PM (#4104626)

I think the writer is on the Mets' medical staff.

23. Mattbert Posted: April 11, 2012 at 11:40 PM (#4104662)

If anyone's curious, the teammate who helped Dickey out of the river was Grant Balfour.

24. Craig in MN Posted: April 11, 2012 at 11:50 PM (#4104669)

If anyone's curious, the teammate who helped Dickey out of the river was Grant Balfour.

I would have bet good money on it being Nomar.

25. Mattbert Posted: April 12, 2012 at 12:05 AM (#4104678)

There's no evidence that it wasn't Nomar disguised as Grant Balfour. I think we could go with that.

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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

R.A. Dickey on ‘Winding Up’ As The Mets’ Knuckleball Pitcher

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