I saw Tim Wakefield throw his knuckler on Saturday

And god is it mesmerizing, even from a bit of a distance (I was sitting on the second level, sort of behind the catcher's plate, which was a gorgeous, gorgeous perspective on a relatively boring game), when Wakefield came in for the eighth and ninth. So many goofy swings.

And with that, I found the quotes on the knuckleball from its wikipedia page, which may be one of the best collection of sports quotes on one phenomena in one place.

• "They say you don't want to have a knuckleballer pitching for you or against you" - Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, quoted in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 4, 1987.
• "I always thought the knuckleball was the easiest pitch to catch. Wait'll it stops rolling, then go to the backstop and pick it up." ― broadcaster and former catcher Bob Uecker
• "You don't catch a knuckleball, you defend against it." ― Dodgers manager and former catcher Joe Torre
• "Trying to hit against Phil Niekro is like trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks". ― All-star outfielder Bobby Murcer
• "I never worry about it. I just take my three swings and go sit on the bench. I'm afraid if I ever think about hitting it, I'll mess up my swing for life." ― All-star first baseman Dick Allen
• "There are two theories on hitting a knuckleball. Unfortunately, neither of them works." ― famed hitting coach Charlie Lau
• "You know, catching the knuckleball, it's like trying to catch a fly with a chopstick." ― All-star and Gold Glove catcher Jason Varitek
• "If it's high, let it fly. If it's low, let it go." ―Common saying describing how to approach hitting the knuckleball.
• "Throwing a knuckleball for a strike is like throwing a butterfly with hiccups across the street into your neighbor's mailbox." ― Hall of Famer Willie Stargell
• "For a knuckleballer, a pitch count of 150 is not a problem. Unless it's the first inning." ― Dave Clark, author of The Knucklebook
• "Like some cult religion that barely survives, there has always been at least one but rarely more than five or six devotees throwing the knuckleball in the big leagues... Not only can't pitchers control it, hitters can't hit it, catchers can't catch it, coaches can't coach it, and most pitchers can't learn it. The perfect pitch." ― Ron Luciano, former AL umpire
• "Hitting Niekro's knuckleball is like eating soup with a fork." ― Richie Hebner
• "You're not expected to hit it. [I am] expected to catch it." ― John Flaherty summing up his day catching Tim Wakefield in a spring training game against the Twins by relaying a comment made by fellow catcher Mike Redmond. Flaherty retired the next day.
• "Knuckleballs suck." ― Geno Petralli after giving up four passed balls in one inning
• "It's not a pitch to be mastered but only executed the best you can. Charlie Hough told me he learned the pitch in one day and spent a lifetime learning how to throw it for strikes."R.A. Dickey, knuckleball pitcher of the Mets, on the knuckleball.