(Image Source: The New York Times )

 

BY BRIAN BONDUS

 

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

 

Hitting your Major League prime at age 37? That’s wishful thinking – unless – you are Met’s pitcher R.A. Dickey. News 12 has the story.

 

“Mets pitcher, R.A. Dickey is part of the history books today. The Mets shut out the Orioles 5 to zero last night. Dickey is now the first big-leaguer in 24 years to throw consecutive one-hitters."

 

And that’s not all. Dickey’s the first pitcher ever to go five straight starts without giving up a run and getting at least eight strikeouts. He’s won 11 games this season against a single loss, and he boasts a 2.00 ERA. A Bleacher Report columnist says Dickey has made quite the turnaround this season.

 

“A career .500 pitcher with a 4.13 ERA has finally been able to master his knuckleball when most players’ careers are helplessly winding or wound down. He has been the catalyst for a surprisingly strong Mets team that finds itself right in the mix of the highly competitive NL East.”

 

So what is Dickey doing now he hasn’t done his other twelve years in the league? In 2005 Dickey changed to a knuckleball pitcher. Baseball Tonight explains the pitch.

 

“The knuckleball is an absence of spin which means no predictability. Hitters have to guess where it’s going. They try to move up in the box, that doesn't work. They move back in the box and try to hit that last break and if they aren’t right, they are just guessing.”

 

And this year with Dickey, they’re guessing wrong most of the time. An ESPN blogger says Dickey’s go-to pitch is becoming historic in 2012.

 

“We're seeing the stuff of legends -- Maddux's control, Pedro's arsenal, Fernando's screwball, Gibson's fastball/slider combo ... R.A. Dickey's knuckleball. For the past six starts, it's been as dominant as any pitch, for a short period of time, as we've ever seen.”

 

Dickey’s scheduled to pitch next on Sunday against the Yankees.