Subway Squawkers: First of all, congratulations!
R.A. Dickey: Thank you.
Subway Squawkers: In the age of
Moneyball, do you think there is going to be more of an effort to develop
knuckleballers as another way for teams to get an edge?
R.A. Dickey: Well, I think at the very least, it's as logical as trying
to teach a hitter to switch-hit – that happens all the time. If you can teach a guy who would otherwise be
released, who has good makeup and good arm strength, how to throw a
knuckleball, you may have stumbled on something that could really be a benefit
to your organization.
The problem is, people still have this bias against the
pitch. They think it's a gimmick, they think it's a trick pitch, illegitimate, whatever
adjective you want to try and put there you can. It takes a little while to get
people past that.
Subway Squawkers: I do the blog with a
Yankee fan and we've seen many pitchers have trouble pitching in New York. You’ve had such
success here. Tim Wakefield was very successful in Boston. Do you think it's harder to pitch in New York,
or is there something about being a knuckleballer that might have made it
easier?
R.A. Dickey: As a knuckleballer, you pay attention to climate from time
to time, and the Northeast has always been a good place to pitch from a climate
standpoint. The humidity's nice, and the
field - I love pitching at Citi Field.
And also, I have interests that lie outside the game of
baseball, and New York is a great platform to try and invest in some of the things
that might transcend the game. And I’m thankful that that's been a place where
I can kind of be myself. It’s a real cathartic place for me because I can get
away from the field and do some things that I really feel like have a lasting
effect. So it’s a good place for me.
Subway Squawkers: Trying to think of a
good Kilimanjaro analogy – it was such a struggle for you to get to the top of
your profession. Do you think it will be a struggle to stay at the top?
R.A. Dickey: Why, sure! I don't think there’s anything about me that says the
hard part is not getting to the top, it’s staying there. I’m gonna tell you, it is hard getting to the
top. (laughs) It’s not easy. The only
thing I can do is try to be responsible for the moments that I've given,
regardless of what I've done in the past or what I hope to do in the future. I have to really be invested in the moment.
That’s what works for me.
Next year, I'm not going to try to be a Cy Young award
winner, I'm just going to try to be me. And hopefully, at the end of the year,
it will be a similar stat line. You just try to do the best you can.
Subway Squawkers: After you left Texas, when you were signing with
other teams, were they signing you strictly as a knuckleballer or did anybody suggest you go back to being a more conventional
pitcher or maybe do both?
R.A. Dickey: No, I was 100% knuckleball. That’s what I was known as.
From the moment that I announced that's what I’m going to become in 2005, that’s
what teams knew me as.
Subway Squawkers: My cowriter on the
blog has read your book and I’m looking forward to reading it. We were
wondering, are you going to do an updated version of it or are you going to do a
sequel since so much has happened since
the book came out?
R.A. Dickey: I’m in the process right now of writing an epilogue, a close to 4,000-word epilogue, kind of chronicling the 2012 season, including Kilimanjaro
and the Cy Young experience.
Subway Squawkers: There’s been a lot of
talk about the other knuckleballers, and I know you called Phil Niekro back as
soon as you won the Cy Young and I’m wondering are there other people in baseball,
like say, Buck Showalter, that have also been important in getting you to
this point?
R.A. Dickey: There’s a lot of people I want to celebrate this with who
impacted me. I am not a self-made man (laughs). I've had a lot of people who really
care about me and I'm glad to be able to share this with them. This is an award
meant to be shared. It's not an
individual award for me. It's one that people should celebrate because they had
something to do with it. Phil Niekro, Charlie Hough, Tim Wakefield, Buck
Showalter, Orel Hershiser. The list is
as long as Santa's naughty and nice list. It's long.
Subway Squawkers: You mention that you
enjoy pitching at Citi Field. The Mets are traditionally a team that has been
built around pitching, so that much be exciting that you're now part of this
great pitching tradition the team has had, dating back to Tom Seaver.
R.A. Dickey: You know, to be considered with Doc Gooden, Tom Seaver,
Jerry Koosman, the New York Mets pedigree of pitchers, the stable is deep, to be
able to say I’m considered among those is a real honor.
Subway Squawkers: Well, I certainly hope
you'll be back with the Mets next year. We look forward to rooting for you.
R.A. Dickey: Thanks a lot. I appreciate it.
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