knuckleball

noun knuck·le·ball \ ˈnə-kəl-ˌbȯl \

|Updated on: 7 Aug 2018

Definition of knuckleball

: a slow baseball pitch that moves erratically and unpredictably and that is thrown with little spin by gripping the ball with the knuckles or the tips of the fingers pressed against the top

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knuckleballer

play \ˈnə-kəl-ˌbȯ-lər\ noun

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Recent Examples of knuckleball from the Web

His first strikeout of the inning was on a knuckleball.

— bobby nightengale, Cincinnati.com, "Tyler Mahle roughed up, Cincinnati Reds crushed in 19-4 loss to Cleveland Indians," 11 July 2018
That blast came off a knuckleball from the Braves' Phil Niekro on the first homestand of the 1970 season.

— matt young, Houston Chronicle, "Look back at Jimmy Wynn's Astros' career on anniversary of his big league debut," 10 July 2018
Boston, left-handed all the way, passed up a scholarship to Oklahoma State to sign with Chicago and reached the majors with the White Sox in 1984, singling off Texas knuckleball-throwing Charlie Hough in his first at-bat on May 1.

— mark schmetzer, Cincinnati.com, "Interleague play with Reds gives former Woodward star Daryl Boston a chance to come home," 3 July 2018
For Boston, the move recalled the adventures of Doug Mirabelli, who was whisked across the country in May 2006 after a quickie trade with San Diego because the Red Sox needed a catcher for Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball against the Yankees.

— tyler kepner, New York Times, "Red Sox Fine-Tune Their Roster for a Visit With the Yankees," 29 June 2018
The Orioles couldn’t get anything going against Red Sox knuckleball pitcher Steven Wright, which didn’t make Monday night look a whole lot different from most any other night this season.

— peter schmuck, baltimoresun.com, "Slumping Orioles try to play small ball, but that doesn't work either," 12 June 2018
Even the most skilled hitters can struggle against the dancing knuckleball.

— blair kerkhoff, kansascity, "Can you imagine a 16-year-old playing in the majors? This Rockhurst grad did, for the KC Athletics," 8 June 2018
With the Rumble Ponies starting a knuckleball pitcher, Mickey Jannis, the Yard Goats came out running, and stole six bases.

— dom amore, courant.com, "Tim Tebow? Yard Goats Putting On Their Own Show, Beat Binghamton, 7-3," 9 May 2018
The Braves supposedly wanted Uecker in 1967 to catch Phil Niekro's knuckleball.

— jr radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "50 year ago this week, Atlanta Braves insisted they weren't cutting Bob Uecker as punishment," 6 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'knuckleball.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.