Downhill from here
06/11/2001
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Curt Schilling's already got 10 wins and 108 strikeouts. His teammate Randy Johnson has 148 strikeouts and a 2.83 ERA, and Pedro Martinez has 140 strikeouts, a 2.01 ERA and seven wins. Sure, these guys are good, and of course I wouldn't mind having them pitch for my squad.
But I'd take Robbie Knight over Schill, Unit and Pedro any day. Well, at least on June 4, I would have.
Knight, a 12-year-old pitcher for the Harper Woods Tigers in Michigan, faced 18 batters in his latest Little League start.
And he struck out every last one of them.
That's right, Knight threw a perfect game against the Giants last Monday, striking out all 18 batters on his way to a six-inning, 7-0 victory. The 5-foot-3, 100-pound Knight also contributed three base hits, but of course the big story was Knight's work on the mound, not at the plate.
As dominant as he was, though, Knight nearly let perfection slip through his pitching hand late in the game, coming back from a 3-0 count to fan the final batter of the night. "I could tell the other team didn't really want to come up to bat anymore after a while," he said after the game. Can you blame them, Robbie? I mean, how degrading would it be to see every one of your teammates come back to the bench shaking his head, examining his bat for holes and cursing the umpire? And the worst thing is, most the kids on the other team all probably go to school with Knight, so whenever they see him walking down the hall or eating lunch in the cafeteria, they'll know. They'll remember the day Knight made them all look like the absolute worst baseball team ever to take the field.
You know, sorta like the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
And all those kids will have to live with all those painful memories until high school graduation, and even on that day Knight will probably give it to them one final time: "So as we get ready to take our first timid steps into the sometimes intimidating real world," he'll say in his valedictorian speech, "we must be ready to make some mistakes. But as adults now, we also must learn how to bounce back from those mistakes, and we have to realize that we can't be perfect... . Well, you can't be perfect, anyway. I, on the other hand, still remember the day I made every single one of you stiffs on the Harper Woods Giants my bitch. It was Monday, June 4, 2001, and I was perfect -- 18 times you guys marched to the plate with a glimmer of hope, and 18 times I sent you scrubs back to the bench with another humiliating strikeout on your scorecards. Still hurts, huh guys? Roger... yup, you were my bitch that day. Tommy, you too. Billy, I see you hiding back there -- I didn't forget about your futility. And then there was Matt Steponic, Mr. All State Quarterback. I believe I made you my bitch three times... on nine pitches. Boy, that was fun." Talk about degradation.
Unfortunately, Robbie's parents didn't get to see his perfection, but after the game the Knight family went out for some ice cream and a little celebration. D'Ann Knight, who missed the game because she was playing softball down the street, called her son's performance "... awesome."
So what's next for Robbie? Well, it doesn't look pretty. With some extremely complicated calculation and a helping hand from a few respected baseball minds, I've been able to predict, with a computed 4.3% accuracy, Robbie Knight's future based on the business-like atmosphere that surrounds the sport today. Below is a transcript of our findings:
June 5, 2001: The Knight family receives several irritating phone calls from Super Agent Scott Boras regarding Robbie's representation. Although he's only 12 and hopes to go to college one day, Boras is relentless, promising to get Robbie, "Alex Rodriguez money the second you turn 18." The offer is tempting but D'Ann and Keith Knight finally ask Boras to leave their son and the rest of the family alone. Three days later, the Knights change their phone number and file for a restraining order against Boras.
July, 2001: Robbie leads his Harper Woods Tigers to the city championship, beating the Reds 9-1. Knight hits two homers and scores four runs, but on the mound he's even better, striking out 12 and allowing only two hits in six innings. The lone run for the Reds is unearned. After the game Tigers coach Mark DiMambro takes his team out for ice cream, buying Robbie a triple-scoop sundae with hot fudge, caramel and chocolate sprinkles. The next day, the Knight family heads down to the local Dairy Queen to celebrate the city championship, Robbie's MVP award and his overall stellar season: a 7-1 record with a 0.67 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 42 innings.
September, 2001: At baseball camp, Robbie catapults into the 15-17 age group, where he learns how to throw a wicked curveball and chew tobacco. Former Major League pitcher Bill Pulsipher, a camp counselor, says of Robbie's development, "He's got better stuff than most of the high school pitchers here. If he keeps this up, he'll make the Majors even faster than I did, and with a lot more fanfare." With two days left at camp, though, Knight is shut down when he feels a slight twinge in his elbow. When he returns home, D'Ann and Keith Knight take their dejected son to Baskin Robbins to cheer him up.
Summer, 2002: Robbie has a tough season at the age of 13, going 3-8 with a 4.37 ERA in an astounding 74 innings. His strikeout totals are down, his weight is up thanks to a steady diet of DQ and 31 Flavors, and his confidence is shaky. Major League and college scouts aren't discouraged, though, as talk of Robbie's potential has skyrocketed thanks to his nasty curveball. Reportedly, George Steinbrenner visited the Knight family one July evening, asking if there was any way Robbie could start throwing left handed. Says an enraged Scott Boras, who was hiding out in the bushes: "You have no right contacting my client at home." As police officers handcuff Boras, Keith Knight reminds him that he is not Robbie's agent.
September, 2002: While breaking in his new mitt, a birthday present from Boston GM Dan Duquette, Robbie hears his elbow pop after snapping off another curveball. A week later doctors conclude that the 14-year-old Knight must undergo Tommy John surgery and will miss at least a year for rehab. A few days after that, Duquette shows up at the Knight household, demanding to have his baseball mitt returned.
May, 2003: With rehab going much faster than anyone had hoped, Robbie's high school coach convinces him to pick up a ball four months earlier than doctors originally recommended. Amazingly, his elbow holds up to the challenge and even though he's only a freshman, he's soon the best pitcher on the varsity team. Doctors are shocked and say Robbie's elbow has healed better than expected. Even though he's sometimes facing hitters nearly four years older than he is, Robbie dominates his conference, posting a 6-0 record with 64 strikeouts in only 47 innings.
June, 2003: Dan Duquette returns the mitt.
February, 2004: With one year of varsity experience on his arm, Robbie comes into his sophomore season with a lot of publicity. During the
offseason, he picked up an extra 15 pounds, not to mention a nasty slider and a complementary change up, giving him four big-league caliber pitches.
April, 2004: Throwing a fastball in the low 90s, Robbie pitches two no-hitters in one month, striking out 12 batters in each outing. His stuff is fantastic but Knight's control is beginning to slip a little: he averages four walks per start.
August, 2004: Robbie starts taking driver's education courses and is shocked when he discovers his driving instructor, Scottie Borrass, takes such an interest in his baseball career.
June, 2005: After a great junior season in which Knight led his team to the State Championship with a 11-1 record and 1.21 ERA, Robbie has to have minor surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow. After the procedure, D'Ann Knight stops at DQ for a little pick-me-up.
June, 2006: Because of a sore shoulder, Robbie is only able to start six games his senior year, posting a disappointing 2-3 record with a save. But despite questions surrounding his David Wells physique, and the health of his elbow and shoulder, Tampa Bay takes Knight with the first overall pick in the draft even though Scott Boras admitted he wouldn't let Robbie sign with the Devil Rays. Again, Boras is reminded that he isn't Robbie's agent as officers handcuff him. Boras is right, however, as Robbie chooses to play in an independent league rather than signing with the D-Rays.
June, 2007: Robbie is taken with the seventh pick in the draft by the Texas Rangers, who six years after signing Alex Rodriguez to a 10-year, $252 million contract, still haven't been able to find enough pitching to take the Wild Card. Tired of playing against guys like Jose Canseco and Paul O'Neill in the independent ranks, Knight agrees to sign with the Rangers after negotiating a $10 million signing bonus.
July, 2007: In his first start for the Rangers AA-affiliate, Knight strikes out the side in each of the first three innings before giving up a home run to Matt McGwire in the fourth. Still, Robbie throws a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts in eight innings, notching his first win of the season. Three weeks and four wins later, Robbie is promoted to AAA at the age of 19. He finishes out the year with a 9-6 record and a 4.11 ERA in 19 starts.
February, 2008: The Rangers, who wrapped up the 2007 season with a 67-95 record despite A-Rod's 74 homers and 192 RBI, invite Robbie to Spring Training, telling him he's got a shot at a bullpen role if he can impress before Opening Day and also drop about 20 pounds. Robbie does just that, winning all three of his spring starts in dominating fashion, heading into the regular season at 215 pounds.
May 7, 2008: Robbie makes his first big league start in Tampa Bay during 10-cent Cotton Candy Night. Unfortunately, after throwing well for two innings, Knight has to leave the game as the 1,200-plus sugar-buzzed fans at Tropicana Field, who remember Robbie shunning the Rays two years earlier in the draft, become unruly, launching car batteries and rotten fruit onto the field. On his way back to the dugout after the second inning, a particularly raunchy orange hits Knight in the side of the head, knocking him out cold. The Rangers put Robbie on the DL that night with a concussion, and even after his return the 20 year old can't put the dreadful memories from Tampa Bay out of his mind: "Hey, it's not my fault they suck so bad I didn't want to play there. I mean, come on, their best player is Fred McGriff and he's, what, 45 now?"
August 10, 2008: With a miserable 3-12 record on the year, Knight finally puts it all together, throwing a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins, who since opening the 2001 season with a 39-22 record, have posted a 479-706 record. On the night, Robbie strikes out 17 batters and doesn't allow a single walk. In fact, the only base runner comes on an Alex Rodriguez throwing error in the eighth inning. After the game, Robbie, only a couple weeks shy of his 21st birthday, is pulled over while leaving a local DQ and arrested for drunk driving and misdemeanor drug possession. Darryl Strawberry, who was in the car with Knight at the time of the arrest, is quoted as saying, "Man, we was set up. Those drugs weren't Robbie's... . I mean, I'm not saying they was mine either... uh, I mean, they definitely wasn't mine... . Actually, I was just kidnapped again over the weekend and Rob, well... he was just, um... . Can I call my lawyer?" Robbie is released after posting $10,000 for bail. Straw heads to rehab again.
September 3, 2008: Only four starts after throwing his no-hitter against the Twins, Robbie is taken out of a game against the Orioles in the third inning after experiencing some discomfort in his elbow. Two days later, Dr. James Andrews confirms the Rangers' worst fears: Knight needs to have reconstructive elbow surgery at the age of 21, putting his 2009 season in jeopardy. A-Rod and his agent Scott Boras take Robbie to Baskin Robbins to help ease the pain.
Unfortunately, Knight only started 12 more games in his Major League career following the surgery as he continued to struggle with weight, health and control problems. In August of 2011 he retired for good after being cut by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He finished with a mark of 13-23 and an ERA of 5.31, but despite his woes Robbie still led the Rays with six wins in his final season. Retired at the age of 23, the last we heard from Robbie Knight was in a
Sports Illustrated article chronicling his dismal career: "Yeah, I had it tough, caught some bad breaks. Looking back, I can see where I made some mistakes, the kind of mistakes that eventually knocked me out of baseball for good. For one, I never should have eaten so much ice cream growing up. Thanks Mom and Dad for that one. Then I guess I shouldn't have listened to Bill Pulsipher in baseball camp telling me I had to learn how to throw a curveball if I ever wanted to succeed. I mean, I was only 12, for crying out loud. And becoming friends with Straw... yeah, that one obviously was a huge mistake. But," he continued "I'm not really pissed off or anything like that. I mean, I got to pitch in the Majors, I threw a no hitter -- should have been a perfect game, goddamn you A-Rod. Plus, for a couple years there, I was getting some of the best ass you could find in Texas.
Yeah, I'd say it was worth it."
He pauses, then says, "And of course, I'll never forget June 4, 2001. A Monday in Harper Woods, Michigan... 18 guys up, 18 guys down. All on strikeouts. Damn, I was awesome that day. All my friends were on that team, on the Giants. Roger, Billy, Jack, Tommy. I made 'em all my bitches that day. Then there was Matt Steponic, Mr. All State Quarterback. I hated him. Three strikeouts, nine pitches... ." He smiles, "Boy, that was fun."
In the Bullz-Eye
Allen Iverson, Dikembe Mutombo and Aaron McKie. The Philadelphia 76ers find themselves down two games to one to the Lakers in the NBA Finals, and most of the damage for LA has been done by Shaq and Kobe. If the Sixers want to win this series, their three award winners need to do their jobs: Iverson must go out and play like the league MVP, scoring 40 points, dishing out six or seven assists and notching a handful of steals; Mutombo needs to not only get his points and boards, but he also must keep Shaq from posting yet another 30-point, 20-rebound game; and McKie needs to figure out some way to keep Kobe in check. It won't be an easy job, but the Sixers actually have a shot if they make guys like Robert Horry, Rick Fox and Horace Grant beat them.