Timmy: Glove Side
The glove side can make or break your knuckleball. You need to neutralize your glove side so that you hand, grip and fingertips are the drivers of the throw; not your herky jerkly gloveside. Charlie Hough always told me that he got to the Big Leagues in two weeks after discovering the importance of the glove side, and it made his knuckleball that much better. Don’t overlook what your glove arm does during the throw!
Glove Side Mechanics
#1: Simple but Difficult. Neutralize Glove Side.
It’s a very simple idea — neutralize the glove side — but what does that mean? Ideally, you hold your glove somewhere out in front of you and your chest goes to get the glove that’s just hovering in space. Some guys do this automatically. I’m one of them. But most guys will have to work on neutralizing the glove side because it can ruin your knuckleball.
#2: Watch the Elbow.
The elbow is the key to the glove side, so, in order for you to know if you have a glove issue, you’ll need to take video while watching the elbow. If the elbow pulls the shoulders by jerking behind the back, than you’ll have to come up with a strategy to better neutralize the glove side. If the elbow stays in front of the body without jerking towards first (or third for lefties), then your glove side if probably good even if the glove moves around a lot.
#3: The Charlie Hough Approach.
Charlie Hough got to the MLB from the minors in just two weeks after cleaning up the glove side. Here’s his approach which offers a bit of deception but a ton of control over the knuckleball.
#4: The TImmy Approach
Tim Wakefield is one of the few knuckleballers I did not befriend over the years, but he’s the man who inspired me to become a pro knuckleballer and he’s why Knuckleball Nation exists. I did talk to Wakefield once, and this is one of the bits of information he gave me. It’s very difficult to pull off, but, if you do, than maybe you’ll get 20 years and 200 wins in the MLB.
#5: The RA Dickey Aproach.
The RA Dickey approach to neutralizing the glove side works for everyone. It’s fool-proof and best for guys trying to throw the ball hard because there’s very little thought. All you need to do is go thumbs down. That’s it. So, if the previous two approaches don’t work, then you can always fall back on the Ole Cy Young Award Winer’s approach.