Scouts at an open tryout aren’t likely to give the knuckleball any attention
Young, aspiring professional knuckle ball pitchers reach out to me here at Knuckleball Nation all the time. And one question I get a lot is this — How do I get noticed as a knuckleball pitcher? How do I break into the pro game? Can I go to an open Major League tryout and get signed?
That’s when I have to break the unfortunate news. You see, Major Leagues scouts, especially the ones at open tryouts, are directed to “scout” pitchers in a certain way. They have charts and matrixes telling them what velocity you need to be throwing at what age. These charts also tell them what height a pitcher should be at what age. Major League organizations send their scouts to school so they can learn how to rate a curveball, slider, changeup, splitter and so on. They are well trained and know exactly what they are looking for.
Unfortunately, they are not looking for you — the knuckleball pitcher.
There are no knuckleball scouts. There is no matrix on how to see a knuckleball and scouts are not trained to rate a knuckle ball. So, even if you show up to an open tryout, throw nasties at 70 miles-per-hour all day long, hit the catcher all over his body and get swings-and-misses from every batter, you still won’t even be ranked by the scout.
It is the plain and awful truth.
But this can be a good thing because it means you have to prove yourself in the aggregate. Knuckleball pitchers are marathon runners. We are designed to eat innings throughout the season and should be at the top of the leaders board in innings pitched every year. So, if you can find a place to throw a lot of quality innings against good competition, and all those innings are documented properly, then you can get noticed.
The numbers don’t lie.
This means finding a college. And any college will do; division III, even. It is important to find a coach willing to let you throw the butterfly out there. Then go out there, get tons of innings under your belt and develop that knuckleball in competitive games. Eventually, you’ll put up the kind of innings-eater numbers that can get you noticed. Make calls, send emails and don’t let yourself be forgotten. Get video of your outings. Show the world your Tim Wakefield-esque usefulness.
I got signed because Charlie Hough vouched for me. Zach Staniewicz got signed because Phil Niekro vouched for him. We didn’t get signed at an open tryout. We didn’t get seen once and had a scout coming pouring out of the stands with a contract. We got signed because the guys who know the knuckleball best said that we were good. But a scout? A scout doesn’t know a good knuckleball from a bad one. And he sure as heck won’t put his job on the line vouching for a pitch he doesn’t understand.
So go above him. Move up the ladder by putting together numbers in the aggregate in a competitive situation. Make so much noise that they can’t ignore you.
