Knuckleball

Directors Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg aren't big baseball fans, but the two women know a good story when they see one. And that's "Knuckleball!" their documentary about the perplexing pitch that has frustrated hitters, managers, and fans for generations. The film, which screens Saturday at the Somerville Theatre as part of the Independent Film Festival Boston, tells the story of the strange pitch by focusing on a couple of its best-known purveyors: Tim Wakefield and Mets right-hander R.A. Dickey.

Lucas Duda smacked a go-ahead RBI-single in the top of the eighth in support of starter R.A. Dickey and the New York Mets edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 on Tuesday night. Dickey (6-1) struck out a career-high 11 in seven innings, giving up one run on four hits to move into a tie with a host of others for the most wins in the majors. Frank Francisco pitched the ninth for his 11th save. Josh Harrison had two hits for the Pirates, who couldn't take advantage of another strong start by James McDonald.

CARNEGIE, Pa. - Bruce Dal Canton, a former high school teacher who turned a good showing at a tryout camp into a lengthy career as a major league pitcher and coach, died Tuesday of esophageal cancer. He was 66. Mr. Dal Canton worked until mid-May as the pitching coach at Class A Myrtle Beach, Atlanta's affiliate in the Carolina League. Mr. Dal Canton went 51-49 with a 3.67 ERA from 1967 to 1977 with Pittsburgh, the Kansas City Royals, Atlanta, and the Chicago White Sox. The right-hander was used as both a starter and reliever and found his...

James McDonald is evolving into a top-of-the-rotation starter in front of manager Clint Hurdle's eyes, to the point Hurdle calls it "fun" to watch McDonald pitch. Watching his team at the plate doesn't give Hurdle quite the same feeling. McDonald tossed seven sparkling innings against the New York Mets on Tuesday but the Pirates again couldn't muster much run support in a 3-2 loss. Despite failing to pick up the victory on a night he allowed just one run on four hits, striking out eight and walking two, McDonald remained upbeat.

You fly all day. You are picked up on the tarmac by a police car. You change in the back seat, arriving at Fenway Park in record time, with sirens blazing. You throw on your equipment, head out to home plate, and there stands Johnny Damon, your old teammate. And 60 feet 6 inches away is Tim Wakefield, whose mystifying knuckleball has just drastically altered the lives of two catchers, yours and the guy you've been brought back to replace. Oh, and have we mentioned it's the first Red Sox-Yankees game of the season and there are 36,000 people screaming on every pitch?

Tim Wakefield may be retired from the Red Sox rotation, but his swooping and- darting legend lives on in the documentary film ‘‘Knuckleball!," having its world premiere at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. Directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg—the pair also made ‘‘Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work"— ‘‘Knuckleball!" follows Wake during the 2011 season as he struggles to rack up his 200th win. Also featured is NewYork Mets hurler R.A. Dickey. The festival opens April 18. ‘‘Knuckleball!"

Any skilled professional can catch Curt Schilling or Josh Beckett. But is Doug Mirabelli the only man on this planet who can catch Tim Wakefield? We know this much: He did it with aplomb for 4 1/2 years, and the five games Wakefield had thrown in his absence this season were terrifying exercises in knuckleball stoppage. Josh Bard was en route to establishing passed ball records that might have endured for centuries, and so the Red Sox did the only thing they could. They asked Bard and Cla Meredith to transport $100,000 with them to San Diego and they welcomed back the...

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff Obviously we value high culture here on Extra Bases. So it's our duty to bring you news of two new cinematic offerings of a baseball bent. ߦ The sixth annual Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will include the world premiere of "Knuckleball!" recounting the successes and struggles of Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey. Directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, "Knuckleball!" deconstructs the erratic pitch that's long plagued hitters. The Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will take place from April 18-29 in New York.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- You pitch until you're 45 years old, for 19 years in the Major Leagues. Take a bow. You did good, Tim Wakefield. The decision to retire from the game has to be painful. You can probably throw that knuckleball for a long time, but after a while Mother Nature takes a hold of you and trying to keep in shape and going through spring training and then a full season, takes it toll. We believe his agent, Barry Miester, when he says Wakefield could have gone to a National League team, where hitters hadn't seen his knuckleball very often, and filled a role and been...

Nothing else in sports is like baseball's knuckleballers, a rare breed that plays a key position in a way that counters all conventions. Pitchers are supposed to throw hard; even those who specialize in breaking balls rely on the difference in speed between their fastballs and softer stuff. Not so for a knuckleballer. He serves up the same soft offering in almost the same way, pitch after pitch. It's about the craft. But the effect, to a spectator, can be disorienting. It's like watching an Amish horse and buggy compete in NASCAR, or a yoga master line up in an NFL backfield.

Directors Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg aren't big baseball fans, but the two women know a good story when they see one. And that's "Knuckleball!" their documentary about the perplexing pitch that has frustrated hitters, managers, and fans for generations. The film, which screens Saturday at the Somerville Theatre as part of the Independent Film Festival Boston, tells the story of the strange pitch by focusing on a couple of its best-known purveyors: Tim Wakefield and Mets right-hander R.A. Dickey.

You fly all day. You are picked up on the tarmac by a police car. You change in the back seat, arriving at Fenway Park in record time, with sirens blazing. You throw on your equipment, head out to home plate, and there stands Johnny Damon, your old teammate. And 60 feet 6 inches away is Tim Wakefield, whose mystifying knuckleball has just drastically altered the lives of two catchers, yours and the guy you've been brought back to replace. Oh, and have we mentioned it's the first Red Sox-Yankees game of the season and there are 36,000...

Tim Wakefield may be retired from the Red Sox rotation, but his swooping and- darting legend lives on in the documentary film ‘‘Knuckleball!," having its world premiere at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. Directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg—the pair also made ‘‘Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work"— ‘‘Knuckleball!" follows Wake during the 2011 season as he struggles to rack up his 200th win. Also featured is NewYork Mets hurler R.A. Dickey. The festival opens April 18. ‘‘Knuckleball!"

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff Obviously we value high culture here on Extra Bases. So it's our duty to bring you news of two new cinematic offerings of a baseball bent. ߦ The sixth annual Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will include the world premiere of "Knuckleball!" recounting the successes and struggles of Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey. Directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, "Knuckleball!" deconstructs the erratic pitch that's long plagued hitters. The Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will take place from April 18-29 in New York.

Tim Wakefield has never been afraid to face a hitter with his knuckleball, kind of like he's never been afraid to face the truth. After all, he pitched in parts of three decades, won 200 games along the way, was a part of two World Series titles, and, above all else, he realizes just how precious baseball careers can be. So, with all that — as well as a ton of memories garnered over 19 years in the majors, the last 17 with the Boston Red...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - You pitch until you're 45 years old, for 19 years in the Major Leagues. Take a bow. You did good, Tim Wakefield. The decision to retire from the game has to be painful. You can probably throw that knuckleball for a long time, but after a while Mother Nature takes a hold of you and trying to keep in shape and going through spring training and then a full season, takes it toll. We believe his agent Barry Miester, when he says Wakefield could have gone to a National League team, where hitters hadn't seen his knuckleball very often and filled a role and been successful.

Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas had never faced a knuckleball pitcher before Saturday night. By the sixth inning, both Royals rookies figured out how to hit the floater. Alex Gordon and Hosmer each drove in two runs in an eight-run sixth inning to help the Royals rally to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-4 on Saturday night, depriving knuckleballer Tim Wakefield of his 200th victory. Wakefield, who is 0-2 with three no-decisions since a July 24 triumph over Seattle, took a 4-1 lead into the sixth, but failed to get out of the inning.

FORT MYERS Fla. - There was a temptation to be stubborn, to show up at spring training and prove to the Red Sox once again that he wasn't finished with baseball, that his knuckleball was good for one more season. But Tim Wakefield, the most unconventional of pitchers, decided to follow a straight path instead. This decision he would make himself. Fighting back tears that belied his stoic nature, Wakefield stood on a field he won't get to play on and announced his retirement yesterday.