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Fish Tales blog, November 2, 2024
I freely admit I was very skeptical of the Marlins’ decision to pay Ty Williams $38 million to toss knuckleballs for four years. I’m always a little worried that the league will eventually catch up to any pitcher who relies on “junk.”
However, I’m happy to announce that I was wrong. Signing Williams was, in retrospect, a good move. Even if Williams’ knuckler stops knuckling and he never wins another game for the Marlins, the World Series championship he helped win will always be there.
I confess I didn’t know much about Williams other than the things any fan knows: he throws a knuckleball and he’s recently become one of the better pitchers in the National League. I had no idea he was the kind of competitor he showed himself to be during the Series.
In Game One, Ty didn’t have anywhere close to his best stuff, but he battled hard enough to give the Marlins a chance to win in extra innings. In Game Four, he was nothing short of dominant.
Last night, the weather conditions were ideal for the Williams and his knuckler—cold and damp—and, as a result, the ball danced all over the place. Ty had trouble throwing strikes, walking four men and going deep into the count numerous times.
But every time the Orioles threatened, Williams gamely refused to let them score. He left the game after the sixth inning—even knuckleballers get tired if they throw 115 pitches in six innings—but he handed the bullpen a 4-0 lead.
The 2023 Marlins won 104 games, but they couldn’t win the World Series. This year’s club wasn’t quite as dominant during the regular season, but they toughened up during the playoffs and won it all.
Having an ace like Ty Williams, an ace who refused to let his team lose, made all the difference.
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