It’s a common fallacy in baseball circles that a knuckleball pitcher needs wind to be effective. As it turns out, most knuckleballers have more success pitching in climate controlled domes. While wind can cause the knuckleball to drift unexpectedly, most of the movement from the pitch comes from the seams of the ball pushing against the air flowing over it. The Twins picked up knuckleballer R.A. Dickey in the offseason from the Mariners with the hope that he’ll become more accurate with his signature pitch in their final year at the Metrodome. Walks have been a problem with Dickey in the past, but the lack of wind and the “heavy” air in the Met could really help him when pitching at home. He’s been suffering from a sore shoulder lately, but he’s expected to start on Friday at the Chicago White Sox. I guess we’ll have to wait a little longer to see how things work out for Dickey’s flutterball in the dome.

Because MLB won’t let people share videos on YouTube, here’s a look at Dickey in MLB ‘09, the video game:

Tags: knuckleball, metrodome, minnesota twins, RA Dickey