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Glite Dictionary
⚾ A baseball pitcher 🤪 An unpredictable person
knuckleballer

knuckleballer

1 8.5
A baseball pitcher who throws a slow pitch that moves unpredictably
  • noun
  • /ˈnʌkəlˌbɔlər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : lanzador de knuckleball
  • Earlier this week, R.A. Dickey made history by becoming the first full-time knuckleballer to win a Cy Young Award, beating out Clayton Kershaw in a race that probably should have been closer than it was, given the narrow differences between the two pitchers' performances.
  • knuckleballer Tim Wakefield
  • knuckleballer Charlie
  • knuckleballer Charlie Haeger

So this circulating air can be the knuckleballers best friend.

Examples

  • It's Dickey! Mets knuckleballer wins Cy Young!

    Blog text (26)

  • " It is a general truth that, if a team faces a knuckleballer one day, its batters don't do very well against a conventional pitcher the next day."

    Blog text (33)

  • Do you think it's harder to pitch in New York, or is there something about being a knuckleballer that might have made it easier?

    Blog text (29)

  • He threw with a velocity and control rare among knuckleballers.

    Blog text (9)

  • Either way, congrats to R.A. Dickey on becoming the first knuckleballer to ever win the Cy Young Award.

    Blog text (6)

  • R.A. Dickey wins NL Cy Young Award, first knuckleballer ever to do so.

    Blog text (9)

  • Subway Squawkers: In the age of Moneyball, do you think there is going to be more of an effort to develop knuckleballers as another way for teams to get an edge?

    Blog text (29)

  • The veteran knuckleballer amazed fans with his ability to throw unpredictable pitches during the game.

  • Many young players aspire to become a skilled knuckleballer due to the unique challenges of mastering this pitching style.

  • In his last match, the knuckleballer baffled the opposing team with his unconventional pitching techniques.

Synonyms

pitcher
vsknuckleballer
198 2.7

A player in baseball who throws the ball to the batter

specializes in throwing an unpredictable type of pitch rather than general role
hurler
vsknuckleballer
  • Jargon
1 8.2

A baseball player who throws the ball to the batter

specializes in throwing an unpredictable type of pitch rather than general pitching
chucker
vsknuckleballer
  • Jargon
1 7.8

A person who throws a ball, like a pitcher

focuses on a specialized unpredictable pitch rather than general forceful throwing

How Specialized

knuckleballer
  • Specialized
1 8.5
pitcher
198 2.7

Surface Forms

knuckleballer singular
knuckleballers plural

Morphology

knuckleballer = knuckleball (semi-transparent) = knuckle + ball + er

The agentive suffix '-er' is straightforward, but the base word 'knuckleball' is a specialized baseball term, so the meaning is only partly predictable for learners.

Etymology

Knuckleballer comes from knuckle and ball: a knuckleball is a pitch thrown with the knuckles so the ball moves in a strange, 'unpredictable' way. So a knuckleballer is a pitcher who throws that tricky pitch.