Knuckleball Dreams: From Backyard to Big Leagues
In the summer of 2012, R.A. Dickey, a knuckleball pitcher, won the Cy Young award. This inspired my sons to learn the pitch in our backyard. The knuckleball, a slow-moving pitch with minimal spin, has a reputation for propelling underdogs and dreamers into the major leagues. I was motivated to see how far my kids could go. Over the next ten years, I discovered that my sons were not the only ones with knuckleball ambitions. Two wealthy businessmen shared this passion, outlined in my book, “School of Hard Knucks: My Three Sons and Baseball’s Wildest Pitch.”
Howard Rich, a Brooklyn real estate investor and founder of Americans for Limited Government, had Mets season tickets behind home plate. From there, he watched Dickey’s knuckleball confuse batters in 2012. His wife, Andrea, questioned why only one major league pitcher used it if the pitch was so difficult to hit. Rich saw this as a market failure and sought to address it by establishing the International Knuckleball Academy (IKA). He employed two minor league knuckleballers, Chris Nowlin and Zach Staniewicz, to manage it.
Halfway across the world, Min Hur, a 36-year-old South Korean who made his fortune in video games, still pursued his childhood dream of playing professional baseball. As Min explained, “I thought if I could master the knuckleball, I might still have a chance.” He turned the roof of his Seoul office building into a training facility with advanced pitch-tracking technology. He reached out to the legendary knuckleballer Phil Niekro, who invited Min to Atlanta for a month of training. Min also trained with knuckleballer Charlie Hough, who noted his ability to reduce spin.
In 2013, Min secured tryouts with the Rangers, Mariners, and Diamondbacks, but was not selected. The Rockland Boulders, an independent minor league team in New York, agreed to give him a chance. Min commuted daily from Manhattan with his translator. He made the team and temporarily left his business to focus on his baseball career. The Boulders promoted Min’s debut with “Min-Sanity,” drawing parallels to Jeremy Lin’s “Lin-Sanity” with the Knicks. Min’s debut was rocky, allowing five runs on five hits, four walks, and hitting three batters in three innings.
Howard Rich, intrigued by Min, considered partnering with him for IKA. After dinner with Hur, Nowlin, and Staniewicz in Koreatown, they had discussions, though much got lost in translation. Rich proceeded with opening the IKA, renting the former Dodgers spring training complex in Dodgertown. Staniewicz was concerned about finding enough attendees willing to pay thousands for lessons. Rich offered a financing plan, allowing players to train for free but claimed a small percentage of any future major league earnings.
Despite the ambitious plan, the IKA closed before any students started training. Min Hur, now 50, continues to pursue his knuckleball dreams. I met him recently in Lower Manhattan, where he practiced with knuckleball coach Joe Gannon. Aged 50 is considered young in knuckleball terms, and Min believes he is pitching better than ever.