Why MLB’s moneyballers aim to resurrect the game’s trickiest pitch

Brian Gaffney argues that analytics-driven Major League Baseball teams could target the knuckleball as the sport's next major tactical comeback. Following the Tampa Bay Rays' successful revival of bunting with 134 bunts en route to the American League's best record, Gaffney contends that analytical front offices seeking low-cost competitive advantages will look to resurrect the unpredictable, low-rotation pitch despite its near extinction in modern baseball.

While former front-office mathematician Christopher Long previously attempted to develop knuckleball pipelines, the pitch remains difficult to control and master at the professional level. High-tech pitching labs have struggled to teach it to conventional pitchers, leaving teams to sign unheralded talents like Devin Kirby-Williams, Kenny Serwa, and former San Diego Padres pitcher Matt Waldron.