Bringing Back the Niekro Knuckler

Sometimes my general love for baseball and the stories therein outweigh a particular team fandom, and that includes my beloved Mets.

A little more than two years ago, one of my favorite pitchers of all time, Joe Niekro, passed away. I love the knuckleball today because of Joe.

Joe's son Lance made his Major League debut a few years back, and I was a bit disappointed to learn that he was a position player, a first baseman who could hit pretty well.

Lance has largely been an average player, and since his father died, he's been even less than average, which resulted in his release by the Astros last season, giving Lance an early retirement at age 30.

But Joe taught his boy how to throw a knuckleball, and Lance would often entertain his teammates (and "kneecap" them) with it. Lance's uncle Phil (Joe's knuckleballing Hall of Fame brother) works in the Atlanta Braves organization. Phil is honing Lance's knuckleball skills, and Lance is hoping to kick off a new pitching career with the Braves, following in his father's footsteps.

Because I'm a Mets fan, rooting against the Braves in just about any situation comes naturally for me (although recently it's been more fun to root against the Phillies, not that it's been working particularly well).

The sentimentalist in me, however, wants Lance to succeed, and I'll be rooting for him when he's on the mound. I just love a goddamn knuckleball, and I loved watching Joe pitch. I always hope that Tim Wakefield has a good outing when he's pitching on national TV, and I'm not remotely the biggest Red Sox fan.

The knuckleball is a dying art in baseball. Pitching coaches don't know how to coach it, and catchers hate to catch it. It either completely baffles hitters, or it's the equivalent of lobbing a softball in there. It's exciting and unpredictable and makes for fantastic baseball.

More knuckleballers, please. Best of luck to you, Lance Niekro. Make papa proud.