Red Sox's Wright became a knuckleballer after messing around in practice
Ten years after getting drafted in the second round by the Cleveland Indians and six years after nearly giving up on baseball, 31-year-old Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright has earned his first All-Star selection.
It's only Wright's first full season as a starter in the big leagues. His path to the majors, like the flight of his so-called "trick pitch," was unpredictable.
As Wright explains in a compelling essay appearing in The Players' Tribune, he enjoyed some statistical success in the minor leagues but the lack of great velocity (topping out at about 92-93 mph) or a true "out pitch" prevented his ascension. And then one day he decided to toy around with a knuckleball he learned as a kid. He writes:
The rest might be history (read the full story here), though it took a while.
Once Wright dedicated himself to the pitch, he spoke with and worked with other members of the MLB knuckleball fraternity including Tom Candiotti, R.A. Dickey, Charlie Hough and longtime Red Sox hurler Tim Wakefield.
Through 16 starts in 2016, Wright has gone 9-5 with 108 innings pitched, 87 strikeouts, a 2.42 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. And if he can keep his grip on that knuckleball, he'll be able to stick around the majors for a decade-plus.
