That brought me so much joy.  As someone who was somewhat forced to learn to throw a knuckleball (for arm preservation), I ended up getting pretty good at it.  My senior year of high school, we had a starting catcher (also a senior) who was great with his glove, but he was lazy with his body work.  On a low-outside pitch, he'd often just be able to short-hop it open-handedly.  Talented enough that he could get away with being lazy most of the time.
That "most of the time" didn't prove to be the case when I was pitching, because I liked knuckleballs.  I got most of my Ks on them, and the contact was usually beaten into the ground for a nice infield grounder.  Early in the season, I requested that our backup catcher, a junior, be the one to catch when I pitched.  He had great footwork, and he knew how to play a knuckleball.  Just get in front, drop to your knees, and cover the gap between your legs.
Starting pitcher overheard that I requested that he not catch for me, and we got into a snit, but I stand by it.  You just can't count on trying to catch it, because none of us know exactly where it's going.
Thank you for the explanation, jmog.
O-Trap
Chief Shenanigans Officer
            
                18,909
            
            posts
        
        
            Joined
                            Nov 2009
                    
    O-Trap
Chief Shenanigans Officer
            
                18,909
            
            posts
        
    Tue, Apr 28, 2020 2:00 AM