RIP Wilbur Wood

[Shropshire Slasher]

I thought crafty meant knowing how and when to locate pitches. Knuckleballers have no idea where it's going.

Neither does the batter, which is why there's still a place for a good knuckler.

 

[cyclingwriter2]

I thought crafty meant knowing how and when to locate pitches. Knuckleballers have no idea where it's going.

I thought crafty was short for “this guy can’t throw over 85, but gets people out.”

 

[Slacker]

I thought crafty was short for “this guy can’t throw over 85, but gets people out.”

Especially when a flame-thrower loses his heater.

See: Frank Tanana, my introduction to turning "crafty" ...

Tanana led the American League (AL) in strikeouts in 1975, then made the AL All-Star team three years in a row. He won 19 games in 1976 and led the AL with a 2.54 earned run average (ERA) in 1977. In 1979, he won the game that clinched the Angels' first-ever playoff appearance. Injuries began to take their toll on him by the end of his tenure with the Angels, and he changed his style from relying on a hard fastball to throwing a repertoire of slower pitches, using deception to get hitters out instead.

 

[I Should Coco]

I thought crafty was short for “this guy can’t throw over 85, but gets people out.”

A more recent example: Mark Buehrle. Had 200-plus wins, threw a perfect game and another no-hitter. Probably wouldn't make an MLB pitching staff these days.