its simple...

one spin directly forward leaves the ball to do what it will. By itself.

Its no secret that the knuckleball does what it does by its slight spin. It usually breaks in the direction of that slight spin.

By spinning it slightly forward really confuses the ball. The flutter east and west becomes amplified and the downward tilt gives it "finnish" according to charlie.

This downward tilt is what misses bats and makes a ball hard to it. East-west movement gives the hitter more room for error.

Spinning it backward slightly makes the ball "float" or glide with some flutter. Football spin has the ball dart in the direction of the spin. No rotation at all makes the either sit still or explode in ecstacy of movement. Slight rotation forward gives you the best chance of not getting hit hard. Its the ideal knuckler: 2 to 4 hard flutters and a bottoms out drop near the strike zone.

Do this 90% of the time at 65 mph and you'll have an ERA under 4 in the bigs.

Dont get me wrong... even at a AA level youll pitch inredibly well with a k-ball not spinning much in any direction. Just to make that last jump you need the text book k-ball spinning forward on the way to the plate.

Its also as simple as Charlie noticing early in his carreer that this brand of knuckler didnt get hit hard at all while all the others did.

Lest we forget that Hoyt Wilhelm was the man who put the finnishing touch on Charlie's knuckler.

usually when my knuckleball spins 12-6 it either wobbles hard up and down or dives down and away.

...but for UMassKballer.

Before I wrote the book I heard that the ideal knuckleball rotated 1/2 turn to the plate, but obviously the direction of rotation and seam orientation would have a lot to do with what it did, especially if you could keep the rotation consistently that low.

Nobody could tell me why that was important.

It's not hard to notice that any slowly-rotating knuckleball would cause fits on most any level of the game. I applaud Charlie Hough for noticing the difference between a knuckleball and a major league kind, and noting the very fine points that make the difference.

I don't know how that kind of information could have been revealed without Charlie's efforts to pass along the finest of fine points that could help a minor-leaguer make the last big step to the pros.

So, UMass, what does the ball do when it rotates slightly forward, and which way do the seams have to be oriented? I'm guessing four-seam orientation, sweet spot forward, and that it's jumpy and wiggly and it dives at the last moment.

--Dave C.

thats a good question. i'd like to hear the answer also.

Interesting....Whats the main reason to that...Just that it gets the most movement with one forward spin? Or theres less chance of it not breaking down low?

Hey, sounds like you are in a VERY good situation. It's not everyday someone gets lessons from Charlie Hough. I would say def. keep listening to what he says, and in the end it will all pay off.

Also, it sounds like he is being very honest with you, which I think is great. It is a lot better than just having him say "great work" but really its not that great at all.


[Edited on 7-27-2006 by knuckleballer4life]

Threw for Charlie Hough in Fullerton California yesterday while still awaiting for my roster spot to open up in Nahua NH. I threw incredibly well for my standards. Shredded the catcher. The kid couldnt handle 35% of the knuckleballs I threw at him... and he is a professional. Charlie even had to talk to the catcher giving him advice on how to handle it. Even got a big old peice of his throwing hand when a k-ball whiffed his mitt. Had the pitching staff of the Fullerton Flyers watching me throw for Charlie yelling out "nasty" and laughing as their catcher was beatin up with baseballs. But yet again Charlie wasn't really impressed.

He had issues with my lead arm being to high, the timing of the break between my ball hand and glove, and the release point of my pitch. The ball spun no more than half a turn EVERY pitch and he didnt like it. Said I would get hit hard in the majors.

The problem being that every k-ball needs to spin forward like a 12-6 curveball to make it in the majors. He says you can't throw a k-ball that spins backward or to the side more than once in a row cause eve "sh**ty hitters in the bigs can hit that." He said all the knuckleballs I was throwing were his bad ones when he was in the majors. That one adjustment is the last step to me being a big league quality knuckler.

I threw 50 pitches and 3 of them were big league quality. Despite all the spin I took off and the ball traveling near 70 mph.

I can honestly say that my knuckleball breaks at least 3 times on the way to the plate. It impresses everyone it comes across... except Charlie Hough.

I took it to Nashua New Hampshire in a AA level independent league and nobody could touch it, but according to Charlie Hough it isnt ready. It is truly amazing how good you need to be to make it in the bigs as a K-baller.

You truly need to master mechanics first. And I mean every step of the way. Because the timing of my arm coming across my body is off by a fraction of a second I stay under the ball let it spin backward just a tad. And that, according to the legendary Hough, is "horsesh**".

Ive spent almost 6 years practicing hard 2-3 times a week and I haven yet been able to impress my mentor Charlie Hough.

The good news is that he was impressed with my mechanical process and says I am closer to "breaking out"

I throw with him again this Sunday.