The Knucklebook: Everything You Need to Know About Baseball's Strangest Pitchthe Knuckleball

(Paperback)

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Description

This little book will teach you all you need to know about the most frustrating yet entertaining pitch in baseball: the knuckleball. It makes batters look foolish when it works; it embarrasses pitchers when it doesn't...or if it works too well. It humiliates catchers and umpires. It confounds spectators. Dave Clark has spent most of a lifetime studying the knuckleball, talking to the major league pitchers who have thrown it, and throwing a few of his own. His book explains the strange workings of the pitch and how it's used, no matter what your interestwhether you're a pitcher, batter, catcher, umpire, coach, spectator, or parent of any of the above. Everything Mr. Clark demonstrates in The Knucklebook is carefully illustrated with line drawings, so if you're an average high school pitcher who can throw strikes, you'll be able to throw a knuckleball exactly like a legendary Hall of Famer. You'll find appropriate and hilarious comments from those who have experienced the game of baseball as it's been affected by the wandering floater. Like those who throw the knuckler, all this information was scattered to far-flung corners of the baseball world until Mr. Clark gathered and compiled it. Reading his little book, you'll end up less mystified and more enlightened about this antic pitch. Or, like the pitch itself, you can just ride the breezes and enjoy the dancing flight from beginning to end. With 51 black-and-white line drawings.

Reviews

A comprehensive look inside the world of the fluttering and frustratingfor hitters anywaypitch. -- Todd Piken * Metro Daily News *
It's nicely written, well organized, well illustrated and imbued with an engaging sense of whimsy. * Booklist *
A guide to every aspect of baseball's most elusive pitch....explaining how and why the pitch is used. * Forecast *
Like the knucklebook itself, The Knucklebook frustrates and delights.... Mr. Clark is terrific....Colorful and interesting stuff. -- Jonathan Eig, author of Get Capone/ ALI * The Wall Street Journal *
A little gem.... After reading it, I am confident I can not only teach the knuckler but also throw a decent one myself. -- John Curtis * The San Diego Union-Tribune *
The world's greatest collector of knuckleball lore. -- Ron Berthel * Scranton Sunday Times *
Theres no pitch as magical as the knuckleball. Dave Clark is showing off the magicians tricks but instead of breaking the illusion, he opens new doors. The knuckleball is given new life here, dancing through our minds as it dances through the air. Clark masterfully breaks down the pitch, the mindset, and could save the pitch from extinction with this important work. -- Will Carroll
If there is anyone alive who knows more about this ever-baffling, fluttering pitch than Dave Clark, he is either retired from, headed to, or currently in the Major Leagues on the strength of his knuckles. And even then, my moneys on Dave. -- Ben McGrath * The New Yorker *
Nicely written, well organized, well illustrated...and imbued with an engaging sense of whimsy. -- Wes Lukowsky * Booklist *
They say that '40 is the new 30.' If that's true, then I figure I've still got a shot at becoming the next Hoyt Wilhelm. Step 1 Memorizing every single page of Dave Clark's The Knucklebook. -- Rob Neyer * ESPN the Magazine *
Dave Clark delivers a resounding strike with his in-depth coverage of baseball's most baffling pitch. -- John Kuenster * Baseball Digest *
Quirky to say the least. -- Melissa McKeon * The Community Journal *

Author Bio

Dave Clark is a professional photographer and has been a woodworker, ceramic furnace operator, car salesman, skydiving instructor, radio announcer, parachute designer, chemical batch maker, forklift operator, hockey referee, produce deliverer, comedy writer, Zamboni driver, and amateur open-mike comedian. But mostly he has been the world's greatest collector of knuckleball lore. He lives with his wife and two children in Barre, Massachusetts.