Former MLB pitcher Andy Sonnanstine sees knuckleball as a way back
It's been said that baseball's a simple game. You throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball.
For Andy Sonnanstine, a former pitcher who spent five years in major league baseball, throwing the ball isn't too easy anymore.
"It’s a roller coaster," says Sonnanstine, who played for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2007-11. "One day it’s great, the next day it’s like I’ve never done it before after three to four months of work. It’s the hardest pitch I’ve ever tried to throw.”
The aforementioned pitch is the knuckleball, and after four years out of the bigs, Sonnanstine sees it as his way back to the mound.
"It’s weird how everything came about," said Sonnanstine, who was the fourth pitcher in the Rays' loaded rotation during their run to the 2008 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. "I was just messing around (in Tropicana Field) and it was like 'why not give it a shot?'”
The Rays signed Sonnanstine's former teammate and journeyman infielder Dan Johnson this off-season as a knuckleball pitcher, which got him thinking. Seeing the success of Red Sox All-Star pitcher Steven Wright and the Blue Jays' 41-year-old R.A. Dickey gave Sonnanstine hope that a comeback was possible.
“I’ve watched quite a few of Wright’s games, and he can kind of manipulate a little bit of the left to right break and right to left break, so I know it’s possible."
So much fun that while practicing, Sonnanstine can't keep a straight face when he throws a perfect pitch.
"I’ve texted back and forth with R.A., and watching him just blows my mind sometimes because hitters will whiff at a pitch and then smile," Sonnanstine said. "If a guy like David Price strikes someone out with a nasty slider, guys get mad, probably curse and want to break their bat. But if Wright or R.A. throws a nasty knuckleball, the hitters are grinning. It’s just fun.”
"When I’m playing catch with guys and I’m drilling their knees and shins or hip, it’s hard not to smile even though they’re probably hurting a bit," said a laughing Sonnanstine. "The toughest part is finding someone to play catch with. The better the knuckleball gets, the worse other people’s shins get."
Though he says "pitching is the end all be all," Sonnanstine will be the first to jokingly boast his perfect 1.000 batting average at the plate during the 2008 World Series. Kidding aside, Sonnanstine is a .292 career hitter, which could garner some interest from National League teams.
While hedging the success he's seen in practice, lately it's been an up-and-down roller coaster for Sonnanstine, who will be the first to say how challenging the comeback has been.
"There’s a mental struggle trying to stay committed to an end goal. You’re gonna have bad days," he says, "and it’s tough to not get down on yourself when you do.”
On top of the internal struggle, some additional road blocks have impeded the process along the way, like when former teammate and current Red Sox pitcher tried to get Sonanstine and Wright together to play catch. Or when Sonnanstine tried to link up with former Rays great Wade Boggs who ended up in a minor car accident while on the way to the meeting.
“So many things have gotten in the way, and it’s been a frustrating road, but I enjoy the challenge."
During his time in Tampa, Sonnanstine didn't have an overpowering fastball like we see today. Instead, what made the Kent State product so effective on the mound was his control and efficiency. With an arsenal of off-speed pitches, Sonnanstine could control the strike zone and paint the corners of the plate.
But when throwing a knuckleball, a pitch that Sonnanstine calls "an anomaly," all that control gets tossed out the metaphorical window with every delivery. So at 33-years-old and four years removed from pitching in a game, why come back now?
"I just love baseball."