. . . as KNUCKLEBALL! gives them extremely short shrift, relegating several backstops to a one-minute, sound-bite montage, with no helpful hints on how to catch these 58 to 78 m.p.h. freakish "whiffle balls." Even less time is devoted to the fact that Sabermetics have made the knuckleball obsolete. As this documentary confesses, the knuckleball's place is for the fill-in, "throwaway" innings, when a game already sports an unreachable run differential. During the 2014 season, for instance, the crowning knuckleballer achievement came at Detroit's Comerica Park, when rookie Tigers manager Brad Ausmus sent in a random Malibu utility infielder--Danny Worth--to pitch in a game for the first time since he was a seven-year-old against a Texas Rangers team which was ahead by 10 or 15 runs TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW! (MLB has no "mercy rule"). Sure, Worth got six outs, posting a 4.50 Earned Run Average in the process (which was BETTER than the Tigers regular bull pen's cumulative ERA year-to-date). But former Yankees manager Joe Torre (featured in KNUCKLEBALL!) never would have pulled a stunt like Ausmus', and apparently used his high office to rake the Tigers over the coals for using this "trick pitch" against such a respectable team as the Rangers. The Tigers were forced to send Worth packing back to Malibu the following week. The knuckleball is now DEAD, as far as MLB is concerned (and only R.A. Dickey doesn't know this).

If you like baseball, you'll like this movie. If you like small films, you'll like this movie. If you like likable people, you'll like this movie. Knuckleball is a wonderful little film.The drama of Wakefield's triumph in game 5 of the 2004 American League Championship Series is the only thing I'd wish were more prominently treated here. (Enduring through THREE passed balls in the 13th inning, with no runs allowed? Epic!) But what stands is a warmly entertaining homage to the best of baseball, the best of baseball players, and the best benefit of simple human faith.Most rewarding are the extended conversations with Phil Niekro and Charlie Hough throughout, and the additional conversations with Jim Bouton, Wilbur Wood, and other past practitioners of baseball's "freak pitch". Interspersing the intimate and heartfelt conversations with R. A. Dickey and Tim Wakefield with game highlights and historical footage puts things in even better emotional perspective.If only the filmmakers had opportunity to highlight Dickey's transcendent 2012 season, and not just Wakefield's retirement press conference from this year. The torch hasn't just been passed, it's shining brighter than anyone could have predicted. Wake's 1992 Rookie of the Year pitching performance was great--but Dickey's most recent has been phenomenal. All because this tight-knit and loyal fraternity of pitchers has selflessly shared everything they know so that someone else might continue on ahead and do the same for those who come after. The movie does a wonderful job of capturing the joy of it, and the wonder.A thoroughly enjoyable film.

When I first heard that a documentary film was coming out about the knuckleball, it seemed a little odd. How would you fill a feature-length movie with an examination of a non-rotating baseball pitch? Well, producers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg have done it—and in the process created one of the most entertaining sports documentaries in years. The reason is that it's not just about the knuckleball—it's about the struggles of the very few men who have tried to master it in the big leagues. Just as the pitch itself is unpredictable, so were the careers of Tim Wakefield, R.A. Dickey, Phil Niekro, Charlie Hough and Belmont's own Wilbur Wood. The film focuses on Wakefield and Dickey, but it also tells the tale of the camaraderie among all the knucklers—and the responsibility they all feel to the legacy of the pitch that made their dreams come true. This is more than a baseball movie, it's a movie about not giving up. As Phil Niekro told Tim Wakefield early in his career, "Accept your losses, but never accept defeat." We recommend this movie highly—four stars!

Knuckleball tells the story of baseball pitchers Tim Wakefield of the Red Sox and R.A. Dickey of the Mets as they go through the travails of the 2011 Major League Baseball season. In the process, viewers gain insight into the mechanics, the lore, and the history of the fluxiest of baseball pitches.Wakefield in particular comes across as a likable straight-shooter who developed this pitch to salvage his hopes of making it to and staying in the Bigs. Dickey follows in the footsteps of Wake, and seems poised to carry the torch for knucklers into the 21st century. With great interviews and insights from Charlie Hough, Phil Niekro, and Jim Bouton, we learn that knuckleball pitchers are a small, proud fraternity who pass their wisdom down the line to keep the art of the knuckleball alive in an age of flamethrowers and the need for speed.The art and chaos of the pitch itself lends itself well to the big screen, and for baseball fans and for anyone who loves to root for the underdog, Knuckleball definitely delivers.