RA Dickey's Dominance as a New York Met Truly an Amazing Story

There is a new knuckleball sheriff in town.

R.A. Dickey tossed a one-hit, complete-game shutout against the Baltimore Orioles Monday night in the New York Mets' 5-0 win. This marks the second consecutive game in which he has gone the distance and was one batter away from a no-hitter—a rather historic feat as highlighted by ESPN Stats & Info:

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Consecutive 1-hitters since 1945: Sam McDowell, Dave Stieb, and now R.A. Dickey? One more inning to go for the Mets ace.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 19, 2012"

Going back to May 22, Dickey has pitched 48.2 innings, allowing 21 hits and one earned run. Yes, you read that correctly. One earned run. His ERA has dropped from 3.45 to 2.00 over that span, and he now sports a sparkling 11-1 record with a 0.89 WHIP. In his last five starts he has 52 strikeouts and five walks.

Unreal.

What makes this scorching hot run even more impressive is his age. In what galaxy does a professional athlete have his best season ever at the age of 37?

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.

If the All-Star break was tomorrow, there is no doubt Dickey would get the call for NL starter.

At this point he is becoming a story that bleeds into the national sports headlines, and not just the baseball section. NFL guru Peter King of Sports Illustrated couldn’t help but ask what the heck is going on with the pitcher:

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This R.A. Dickey's amazing. Where'd he come from? Some Hollywood set?

— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) June 19, 2012"

Just under 70 games through the season, Dickey ranks first in the NL in wins (11), innings pitched (99), strikeouts (103), ERA (2.00) and is second in WHIP (0.89). He has already matched his season-high win total and is well on his way to crushing almost every other single-season stat on his resume.

Dickey is not only having success—he’s flat out dominating.

You’d have to accuse him of steroids if it wasn’t for the fact he’s doing all of this with finesse and not power or speed. Dickey is a prime example of how mental the game of baseball can be. He has finally learned the finer points of pitching and the exact movement he needs on his knuckler. This could never happen in football or basketball.   

It’s still early in the 2012 season, but R.A. Dickey has turned into the story of baseball after 2.5 months.  

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