Frazier Breaks Out His Knuckleball for Mets; Happy 100th Birthday Roger Angell
New York Mets pitcher Todd Frazier broke out his knuckleball to pitch a perfect ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves on September 19th. Frazier’s final pitch, a knuckleball, struck out Brave’s slugger Adam Duvall and was clocked at 55.3 mph, the seventh-slowest strikeout pitch since 2008. Frazier was acquired by the Mets earlier this season in a trade with the Rangers and was slated to serve as a backup third baseman. However, with the Mets way behind in the ninth, manager Luis Rojas called upon Frazier and his knuckleball throwing ability to close out the game in dramatic fashion.
Incredibly, this was Frazier’s very first time pitching in his ten year big league career.
Videos of Todd Frazier’s historic pitching performance may be seen found here.