MLB’s weirdest pitcher attempts even weirder comeback

Fear the weird.Once known as the bearded, over-exuberant, flame-throwing closer for the San Francisco Giants, Brian Wilson is attempting a comeback to the big leagues. But this time, he’s ditching his beard — and his fastball — for the knuckleball.No...

MLB’s weirdest pitcher attempts even weirder comeback

Fear the weird.

Once known as the bearded, over-exuberant, flame-throwing closer for the San Francisco Giants, Brian Wilson is attempting a comeback to the big leagues. But this time, he’s ditching his beard — and his fastball — for the knuckleball.

No beard, no spin… pic.twitter.com/jduVacBBMA

— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) February 8, 2017

“I always said that once my career was over I was coming back as a knuckleballer,” Wilson, who has auditioned his knuckleball for two teams, told Yahoo Sports. “I’m good with it. Man, I get to play a game. It’s going to be pretty fun.”

Wilson, 34, has been training in Southern California, where he’s trying to reinvent himself as a knuckleball starting pitcher, a pitch he taught himself when he was a 12-year-old.

His comeback may seem like a stretch. Wilson was used exclusively as a reliever during his nine MLB seasons. He’s also endured two Tommy John surgeries on his elbow, which raises more questions about his durability.

The three-time All Star last pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014, when he went 2-4 with a bloated 4.66 ERA. He had brief success with the Dodgers in 2013 — the Giants didn’t bring him back following his second surgery — but the Dodgers cut him after his horrible 2014 season despite owing him $9.5 million in 2015.

What makes Wilson’s knuckleball different from others is he’s throwing it from multiple arm angles to manipulate the speed of the pitch. Former Mets Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey does something similar, but manipulates the spin of his knuckleball with his fingernails.

And even without his beard, don’t worry, Wilson still is really weird. The two-time World Series winner recently completed a 30-day guacamole-only diet.

Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.

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