R. A. Dickey
The knuckleball made R.A. Dickey a unicorn in modern baseball, but what's remarkable is how late he discovered his calling. After bouncing between the majors and minors as a conventional pitcher for years, Dickey didn't fully commit to the dancing knuckleball until his thirties — then promptly became the best pitcher in the National League.
His 2012 Cy Young season stands as one of the most unique dominant campaigns ever. A 20-6 record with a 2.73 ERA while throwing almost exclusively knuckleballs? That's like winning a Formula One race in a horse-drawn carriage. The pitch baffled hitters so thoroughly that opposing catchers struggled just to handle it.
Dickey proved that baseball still had room for pure artistry in an age of velocity obsession. His 1,477 career strikeouts came not from overpowering stuff but from a pitch that danced like a butterfly and left batters swinging at air.
Career · Hitting
15 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | TEX | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2003 | TEX | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 265 |
| 2004 | TEX | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2005 | TEX | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2006 | TEX | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2008 | SEA | 32 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .500 | 67 |
| 2009 | MIN | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2010 | NYM | 27 | 51 | 0 | 5 | .255 | .590 | 81 |
| 2011 | NYM | 33 | 59 | 0 | 2 | .136 | .286 | 40 |
| 2012 | NYM | 34 | 72 | 0 | 3 | .153 | .317 | 44 |
| 2013 | TOR | 34 | 6 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .833 | 117 |
| 2014 | TOR | 35 | 9 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 2015 | TOR | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 2016 | TOR | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 2017 | ATL | 31 | 61 | 0 | 5 | .148 | .295 | 39 |
| Career | 402 | 267 | 0 | 16 | .169 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
15 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | TEX | 4 | 12.0 | 0 | 1 | 6.75 | 65 | 4 | 1.667 |
| 2003 | TEX | 38 | 116.7 | 9 | 8 | 5.09 | 86 | 94 | 1.483 |
| 2004 | TEX | 25 | 104.3 | 6 | 7 | 5.61 | 80 | 57 | 1.620 |
| 2005 | TEX | 9 | 29.7 | 1 | 2 | 6.67 | 64 | 15 | 1.551 |
| 2006 | TEX | 1 | 3.3 | 0 | 1 | 18.90 | 24 | 1 | 2.700 |
| 2008 | SEA | 32 | 112.3 | 5 | 8 | 5.21 | 83 | 58 | 1.558 |
| 2009 | MIN | 35 | 64.3 | 1 | 1 | 4.62 | 93 | 42 | 1.617 |
| 2010 | NYM | 27 | 174.3 | 11 | 9 | 2.84 | 143 | 104 | 1.187 |
| 2011 | NYM | 33 | 208.7 | 8 | 13 | 3.28 | 120 | 134 | 1.227 |
| 2012 | NYM | 34 | 233.7 | 20 | 6 | 2.73 | 147 | 230 | 1.053 |
| 2013 | TOR | 34 | 224.7 | 14 | 13 | 4.21 | 92 | 177 | 1.237 |
| 2014 | TOR | 34 | 215.7 | 14 | 13 | 3.71 | 101 | 173 | 1.229 |
| 2015 | TOR | 33 | 214.3 | 11 | 11 | 3.91 | 101 | 126 | 1.194 |
| 2016 | TOR | 30 | 169.7 | 10 | 15 | 4.46 | 94 | 126 | 1.367 |
| 2017 | ATL | 31 | 190.0 | 10 | 10 | 4.26 | 102 | 136 | 1.368 |
| Career | 400 | 2073.7 | 120 | 118 | — | — | 1477 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.