The knuckleball won’t were a pitch that used to be in George Kirby’s arsenal, however he had no downside busting it out in Sunday’s regular-season finale. The Seattle Mariners starter tossed a knuckleball on Sunday as some way to honor former Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield.
Wakefield, 57, died on Sunday following a fight with mind most cancers.
Kirby tossed the knuckleball all through the fourth inning of the Mariners’ 1-0 win over the Texas Rangers on Sunday, and he controlled to strike out Rangers superstar Corey Seager at the play. The right-hander selected the pitch as a result of Wakefield threw one of the most absolute best knuckleballs in MLB historical past.
“I loved watching that guy throw, even though he’s a Red Sox player and I’m a born Yankee fan,” Kirby stated. “But yeah, it was a great day to throw it and I’m glad Seager missed it and didn’t take it deep. So, yeah that was fun.”
Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who in fact grew up as a Red Sox fan, signaled for Kirby to throw the knuckleball. Sunday’s sport had no bearing at the standings because the Mariners had already been eradicated shape playoff rivalry.
“With the passing of Tim Wakefield today, who knows — baseball is a weird game that way,” Mariners supervisor Scott Servais stated. “I do believe in the baseball gods, and maybe that’s why it came out today.”
Kirby simply finished his 2nd skilled season, which integrated showing in the All-Star Game for the primary time in his occupation. He completed the season with a 13-10 file to pass together with a three.35 ERA and 173 strikeouts. Kirby tossed six shutout innings on Sunday and yielded handiest 3 hits.