I’ve always been fascinated by the knuckleball. Since I play softball several nights a week and sometimes pitch, I often find myself practicing the pitch (probably too often if you ask some of my friends). It’s extremely difficult to master. While the softball version varies in speed from the baseball one, the concept is the same: pitch the ball with as little spin as possible. The result? A ball that can move any which way, a ball with no direct path to the plate. The pitch is almost always unpredictable, catchers have difficulty catching the seemingly rotation-less pitch, and the best hitters in baseball look like amateurs trying to take hacks at it. I’ve always wondered why more pitchers haven’t embraced the pitch — the reason resides partly in how difficult the pitch is to control and partly how those who use it are viewed, as oddities. A documentary by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg profiles the knuckleball and some of its history through those who’ve thrown it. Hit the jump to see more.

Check it.

I will be making time to see this. I’m not sure it’ll make it to theaters around me, but it will always be on my radar until I finally get to watch it. I’ll scour Netflix or the movie channels, or even possibly pirat- just kidding, I would never illegally download a film. But anyway, keep your eyes open for this one baseball fans, because only this rare pitch, the knuckleball, could warrant an entire documentary about it. We will never see a documentary titled, “Fastball.”

For more information about Knuckleball, here is their website.

 

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @matthewdeery