Knuckleball

Some call it the most unhittable pitch in baseball. Others, primarily the ones who can’t hit it, call it a circus act that doesn’t have anything to do with the game. In the history of baseball, there have only been a few pitchers who have mastered throwing the knuckleball, and as the ones interviewed for this documentary explain, “mastered” might be too strong a word. The film uses the final season of Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield as the center to spin the story of the pitch from, using interviews with Wakefield, his fellow players and managers, and various sports writers to deconstruct the mystery behind the pitch. It’s refreshing to hear Wakefield admit that even he doesn’t know what will happen once the ball leaves his hand. The best part of the film, though, may be the time that Wakefield gets together with old timers like Charlie Hough and Phil Neikro, as well as the new kid on the block, N.Y. Met pitcher R.A. Dickey, to sit around and swap stories about the unique talent they have and how it gave them a life in baseball.