Tom Candiotti: A Life of Knuckleballs

Most baseball fans identify Tom Candiotti first and foremost as a knuckleball pitcher. He actually began his career as a conventional pitcher in 1983 after becoming just the second player to appear in the major leagues following Tommy John surgery, at a time when only Tommy John himself had ever come back from the operation. Candiotti, whose arm recovered following the surgery, threw fastballs and curveballs in his first two years in the majors before switching over to the knuckleball prior to the 1986 season. Though he would then go on to use the knuckleball primarily throughout the rest of his career, he also threw a good enough curveball to get hitters out. This biography is based on the recollections of Candiotti himself, his former teammates and managers, newspaper and periodical accounts, and archival resources.