After spending most of the 2000s bouncing between Triple-A baseball and the major leagues, Robert Allen "R.A." Dickey reinvented himself as a knuckleball pitcher and won the 2012 National League Cy Young as a member of the New York Mets.
Formerly of Montgomery Bell Academy and the University of Tennessee, the 40-year-old Dickey has an autobiography, "Wherever I Wind Up," in which he details sexual abuse he endured growing up. He is in his third season with the Toronto Blue Jays and was a guest Tuesday on "Press Row" on ESPN 105.1 FM.
Q: Did you ever think you would be pitching into your 40s?
A: "No. If you had asked me when I was 30, I would have never said I would be pitching at 40. That's one of the things about the knuckleball - it's less taxing on your body, so it allows you to go a little bit longer. If you keep yourself in OK shape, you can keep going."
Q: You were an English literature major at Tennessee. Had baseball not worked out, what would you have done?
A: "I think I probably would have been a writer of some kind or a teacher. Some of the people who have made the biggest impact on my life have been teachers and coaches, specifically in high school, so I probably would have gone that route."
Q: Given all the times you were sent down to the minors, how much sweeter did that make 2012?
A: "It was really satisfying, because there were plenty of times I thought, 'What am I doing?' I was 33 years old, spending 12 hours on a bus in Triple-A with two kids at home. When 2010 came around and I really started to get the hang of the knuckleball, it was a real rewarding journey.
"I had put so much time in the minor leagues trying to figure it out. At spring training, I would be in the cage at 6 in the morning throwing ball after ball trying to figure out the grip and the mechanics, so all that coming together was satisfying to say the least. It's hard to explain 2012, because it was such a magical year to where everything that could go right went right."
Q: In your autobiography, were you nervous divulging the sexual abuse you encountered as a child, or was it more therapeutic?
A: "There were a lot of different emotions. I know I was frightened and scared for sure, but it was also very cathartic to share your story with people who may have had a similar experience but didn't have anywhere to go with it. That was my real hope - connecting with a population of people who were in pain and hadn't come out to tell anybody about their own trauma.
"It didn't come without difficulties, because I was having to write about real intimate details that you were ashamed of and scared about. Fortunately I have a lot of people who love me and helped me write that portion of my story."
Q: Do you still hear from people thanking you?
A: "It's been really neat, because the book has allowed me to go on speaking engagements. There have been people who have come and shared their own experience. There are times when they have written me or have told me that I'm the only person they've ever told, and it's because they have shared something that connected with them in the book."
Q: Your knuckleball has been clocked as low as 54 miles per hour. Have you ever tried to get it closer to 50?
A: "There is a knuckleballer with the Red Sox right now, Steven Wright, and we're obviously friends and have shared stories with one another because we're the only two knuckleballers in the major leagues now. He told me he threw one the other day at 48 miles an hour, so we have an ongoing competition.
"In my last game against the Red Sox, I threw one at 61, so I've got a long way to go to get to 47 to break his 48."
Q: Turning to our rapid fire, which hitter do you least like to face?
A: Omar Infante.
Q: Have you tried to get with Clayton Kershaw for a photo of the last four NL Cy Young award winners?
A: "No. I'm sure he's upset with me for 2012."
Q: What does Tennessee have to do to get back to SEC baseball relevance?
A: "I think they've got the right people in place. It's just a matter of being consistent with their on-field performance. They've shown flashes, but what makes the SEC so good is that consistent play."
Q: When you've got that knuckleball dancing, do you have to fight off the giggles?
A: "No, because it can be real humbling, too. When you throw one that doesn't knuckle to the plate, it goes further than any other ball you can imagine. You are constantly walking that razor's edge."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.