knuckler
1
9.2
- noun
- /ˈnʌklər/
- Jargon
:
knuckleball
- The pitcher threw a knuckler that danced unpredictably as it approached the plate.
- throw a knuckler
Examples
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Former defensive specialist catcher Bob Uecker once quipped that the best way to catch a knuckler is to wait for it to stop rolling and then pick it up.
Blog text (13) -
Shoppach seems to have fit in nicely with this group, and he'll eventually get better at handling Dickey's knuckler.
Blog text (30) -
Two pitches after the walk, a knuckler got away from LaRue for a passed ball.
Blog text (13) -
Not only a curveball, but the most tantalizing knuckler you ever saw.
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Add Dickey's knuckler and Gee's change, and you have a group of starters that can show opposing teams not only talent, but great diversity.
Blog text (33) -
Springer slung a 3-and-2 knuckler.
Fiction book (2002) -
I don't know if he just cleared his head or got a bigger glove or if Fernandez eased up on the knuckler or what, but there were no more passed balls.
Blog text (13) -
The irony is that the same factors that worked in his favor for his Cy Young narrative—his age and his reliance on the knuckler—are working against him when it comes to his next contract.
Blog text (3) -
After mastering the knuckler, he became known for his ability to confuse batters with its unusual movement.
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During practice, he consistently threw a knuckler, demonstrating how little speed and spin can cause chaotic trajectories.
Synonyms
5
8.2
A pitch in baseball thrown with little spin that moves unpredictably
How Unpredictable
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Knuckler comes from knuckle meaning 'finger joint' plus the ending -er, and it brings to mind a pitcher throwing with their knuckles so the ball has very little spin. That's why a knuckler is a slow, hard-to-hit pitch that wobbles and moves in an unpredictable way.