knuckleball
noun
knuck·le·ball ˈnə-kəl-ˌbȯl 
: a slow baseball pitch that moves erratically and unpredictably and that is thrown with little spin by gripping the ball with the knuckles or the tips of the fingers pressed against the top
knuckleballer
ˈnə-kəl-ˌbȯ-lər
noun 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Blandino also has a nasty knuckleball, as Slater well knows after serving as Blandino’s catch partner as a freshman at Stanford. 
Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Mar. 2022 During a throwing session amid his first spring training with the San Diego Padres last season, Matt Waldron decided on a whim to change things up and toss a knuckleball. Greg Luca, San Antonio Express-News, 7 Apr. 2022 So of course when Slater faced Blandino at that game at Cincinnati last year, Blandino nearly hit him with a knuckleball before Slater grounded out to short, ending a scoreless inning for Blandino. Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Mar. 2022 The entire point of a knuckleball is to keep the ball from spinning. BostonGlobe.com, 26 June 2021 Drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays as a conventional pitcher, he was released after the 2011 season and began an odyssey into independent ball, throwing the knuckleball to stand out. Nathan Ruiz, baltimoresun.com, 23 June 2021 Chris Nowlin would love to teach you how to throw a knuckleball. Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2021 Turns out infielder Danny Mendick, who played at UMass Lowell, can throw a decent knuckleball. BostonGlobe.com, 19 Apr. 2021 And for those few seconds, nothing in the whole darn world can touch a knuckleball. Andy Nesbitt, USA TODAY, 10 Mar. 2021 See More
Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Mar. 2022 During a throwing session amid his first spring training with the San Diego Padres last season, Matt Waldron decided on a whim to change things up and toss a knuckleball. Greg Luca, San Antonio Express-News, 7 Apr. 2022 So of course when Slater faced Blandino at that game at Cincinnati last year, Blandino nearly hit him with a knuckleball before Slater grounded out to short, ending a scoreless inning for Blandino. Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Mar. 2022 The entire point of a knuckleball is to keep the ball from spinning. BostonGlobe.com, 26 June 2021 Drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays as a conventional pitcher, he was released after the 2011 season and began an odyssey into independent ball, throwing the knuckleball to stand out. Nathan Ruiz, baltimoresun.com, 23 June 2021 Chris Nowlin would love to teach you how to throw a knuckleball. Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2021 Turns out infielder Danny Mendick, who played at UMass Lowell, can throw a decent knuckleball. BostonGlobe.com, 19 Apr. 2021 And for those few seconds, nothing in the whole darn world can touch a knuckleball. Andy Nesbitt, USA TODAY, 10 Mar. 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
1907, in the meaning defined above