im am trying to learn this great and difficult pitch. right now i am practing at around 45 feet, on flat ground. is this ok to begin with? i also pitch it with my knuckles, not my fingertips. is this alright? and i use three fingers, insted of two. again, is this alfight?
TIP’S GREATLY APPRETIATED!!! 
Well hey there buddy, glad to see someone trying to learn the knuckleball. I prefer not to be called a knuckleballer because well that’s the wrong way to think of it, think of it as a pitcher who throws knuckleballs.
It doesn’t matter how you throw it as far as your grip as long as you are getting results, play with some other ones but find your consistent one. Nobody throws it exactly the same but some of the important things are that you need to keep a stiff wrist, you need to follow the ball, don’t push it but follow it out of your hand. Don’t lob it make sure you still throw it somewhat hard, no velocity means no movement. Anywhere from 50-75 MPH will get you some movement. Even though the knuckleball is one pitch you need to mix speeds with it, throw some hard and some soft, just because you have a knuckler doesn’t mean you are good, you have to know how to pitch and just use the knuckleball with it.
As far as the flat ground question, that’s how I started out and it is a good way to start, just get the feel for it. Remember to experiment that is the main thing you need to do. Find what works for YOU.
If you want more help go to www.knuckleballhq.com there are some good knuckleball helpers on there. I would also suggest buying the knucklebook. Now get your butt out there and don’t let it spin.
Yeah Knuckleball HQ is a good place to go for the flutterball and buying the book should be required reading for every flutterballer.
Most of the great ones used the finger nail variety in one way or another because it is easier to kill the spin on a repeated basis.
Yeah most great ones do use the fingertips but if it works for you do it, keep trying to use the fingertips and experiment.
There are many different grips out there, Charlie Zink (BoSox AAA) and Jared Fernandez (Japan) both have an odd grip, one fingertip and one knuckle. If you ever saw Wade Boggs pitch (yeah he threw a few innings once lol) he used his knuckles.
Eddie Cicotte originally threw it off his knuckles and that’s where it got it’s name but he eventually went to the fingertips. The original knuckleball though was thrown a long time ago by a man named Toad Ramsey, he didn’t really throw it as we know it today and that’s why nobody thinks he threw one, he split the ring and index fingers and put the middle finger on top and he killed spin with it.
ive been working on one lately and i think itsfinaly rewady for the game. I threwit 3 time and they all swong and missed
i find a knuckleball most effective on a field where shadows keep the hitter from reading the spin of the ball till later on in the ball flight. whenever i have one thrown to me on my teener field it scares the crap out of my when i can see the seams, and when i throw it it does the same for them.
Why would it scare YOU to see seams? It’s good if you can see seams. This means you are throwing the knuckler properly. On a good day I can see seams even if I don’t look directly at it.
Yeah most knuckleballer are K-Ball specialists-no mystery here…Except where the ball is going -this time…Ian.
The only way you know where it’s going is if you can master the corkscrew knuckleball.
[quote=“strictly recreational”]? i also pitch it with my knuckles, not my fingertips. is this alright? and i use three fingers, insted of two.
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this is the way I throw it, It probably should have a tiny bit of top spin right? doesn’t really knuckle a lot but it should die radically as it reaches the plate, just make sure it gets near the plate before dropping, maybe try aiming slightly higher than the target
That’s a good way to use one is to start off using it as a sinker type pitch. Throwing it with top spin like that would give you the same type of action a splitter should get only slower.
Like I said do whatever works for you with a knuckleball, that’s the best advice anyone can give on the knuckler.