Pettitte Threw A Knuckleball?



In an interview with Yahoo!'s Tim Brown, Jorge Posada reveals that Andy Pettitte was quite the accomplished knuckleballer:

"Andy Pettitte had a knuckleball when he started in the minor leagues. Nasty, too. That was his two-strike pitch in the minor leagues."

(Yes, Pettitte threw a knuckleball for one professional summer – 1991 – in rookie ball and Class-A Oneonta. Posada caught Pettitte in Oneonta. Or, tried. “When I got to two strikes, I was going to throw a knuckler as hard as I could,” Pettitte said. “I struck everybody out with it.” His coaches ordered him to scrap it. One of the coaches was Hoyt Wilhelm, a Hall of Fame knuckleballer. They promised him when he was in the major leagues for 10 years, he could start throwing it again. So? “I can’t,” Pettitte said. “I lost it.” As he recalled, he threw two to Posada. One hit him in the shin, the next in the foot. Posada took off his mitt and warned, “I’m not catching you again if you throw it.” Pettitte: “My nickname was ‘Knucksie.’ I’m not kidding.”)

Knucksie! They do say if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but who wouldn't want to see Pettitte go a little Wakefield on someone's ass? That would be sweet.