Knuckleball! (2012)

A documentary that showcases baseball's most unpredictable pitch.

Directors:

Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg

Stars:

Tim Wakefield, Dave Lennon, Jim Bouton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Wakefield	...	Himself - Pitcher, Boston Red Sox
Dave Lennon	...	Himself - Sportswriter, Newsday (as David Lennon)
Jim Bouton	...	Himself - Knuckleball Pitcher 1962-70, 1978
Charles Hough	...	Himself - Knuckleball Pitcher, 1970-1994 (as Charlie Hough)
Roger Angell	...	Himself - Senior Editor, The New Yorker
Ben McGrath	...	Himself - Writer, The New Yorker
Tony Massarotti	...	Himself - Radio Host, The Sports Hub
Ian Browne	...	Himself - Writer, MLB.com
Roger Clemens	...	Roger Clemens (archive footage)
Cy Young	...	Himself - Major League Pitcher, 1890-1911 (archive footage)
R.A. Dickey	...	Himself - Pitcher, N.Y. Mets
Anne Dickey	...	Herself - R.A.'s Wife
David Waldstein	...	Himself - Reporter, New York Times
Brian Costa	...	Himself - Reporter, Wall Street Journal
Wayne Coffey	...	Himself - Writer, New York Daily News

Storyline

A documentary that showcases baseball's most unpredictable pitch.

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | professional sports | boston red sox | fenway park | 

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Taglines:

To gain power you must first give up control.

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Genres:

Documentary | Sport

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 2012 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Break Thru Films,Major League Baseball Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min (theatrical)

Color:

Color Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

To My Enemies!
Written by A/J Jackson (as Alexander Jackson), Aaron Sharp, Greg Erwin, and Dak Lerdamornpong (as Chondrak Lerdamornpong)
Performed by Saint Motel
Courtesy of Songs for Film & TV
Published by Saint Motel Music (BMI)
By arrangement with Songs for Film and TV

User Reviews

The Knuckler

The knuckleball is an enigma in the sport of baseball. Only a handful of pitchers in the 100+ year history of the game have thrown it well enough to make a career out of it. This documentary focuses on two knuckleballers in particular (Tim Wakefield & R.A. Dickey) in trying to shed some light on both the physical and mental side of being a baseball oddity.

There are basically two distinct themes running through this doc:

1. A history of the pitch, so to speak, in which former knucklers like Charlie Hough, Wilbur Wood, Tom Candiotti, and Phil Niekro are interview regarding their thoughts on their bread-and-butter pitch.

2. A narrower focus on Wakefield & Dickey, delving into more the psychological toughness needed to soldier on despite being label a baseball "freak", of sorts.

This is a great little documentary for all baseball fans (especially those who vividly remember Wakefield's long career or Dickey's magical run with the Mets) and is about as unique as the fluttering pitch itself (I can't remember any other documentary covering similar material). It is lighthearted, emotional, informative, and serious all at the same time.

The only reason I can't give it the full five stars? I wish it would have focused on the personal stories of Wakefield/Dickey even a bit more. Their interactions with the "old gang" of knuckleballers is great, don't get me wrong, but there are WAY too many slo-mo shoots of fluttering knucklers used simply to fill time/space. The personal stories would have been compelling enough to explore even more fully.

Overall, though, this is a fun little baseball documentary that is very professionally produced and doesn't try to "ruffle feathers" by making outrageous statements for publicity's sake. It is clear that the filmmakers were truly interested in and inspired by their creation and that fact shows in the final product.