R.A. Dickey returns to a New York City mound this afternoon, but the pitcher who became a fan favorite in Queens and won the National League Cy Young award last season may be unrecognizable.
The former Mets ace isn’t the same — at least his results aren’t.
It has shown in his mediocre 2-3 record, 4.66 ERA and inability to get deep into games, a strength of his with the Mets. Recently. Dickey has been bothered by an upper back and neck injury, which has forced him to throw his knuckleball slower, he said.
According to data obtained by Bloomberg Sports, his average knuckleball has decreased each start, to 75.7 mph from 77.2 last year and his fastball’s average velocity has lowered to 82.3 mph, down from 83.4 last year.
“That’s intentional,” he said Saturday after the Blue Jays fell to the Yankees, 5-4, for the third straight time at the Stadium. “I can’t ramp it up right now. I want to ramp it up to 77, 78, 79, 80, but I can’t because my back inhibits me from doing that.”
Dickey is throwing the knuckleball more, using it 89.5 percent of the time, the report said, compared with 84.8 percent last year. Furthermore, hitters are swinging at his pitches out of the strike zone just 21.8 of the time, compared with 31.5 percent last year. Right-handed batters are hitting a robust .302 against Dickey.
Dickey, who went 20-6 last season with a 2.73 ERA for the Mets, is a new-age knuckleballer, changing speeds on the pitch and throwing it faster than most. He also throws his fastball harder than traditional knuckleballers. Yet, the injury seems to have dulled his potency.
“I’m certainly not 100 percent, but I feel like I’m well enough to give my team a chance to win, so I’ll take the ball,” Dickey said. “Any time you’re not pitching at what you’re fully capable of doing, it’s mentally, if nothing else, kind of a grind. It’s certainly not fun pitching with pain, which you certainly have to do in this game from time to time.”
Despite the pain, Dickey has performed better of late. He threw six shutout innings against the White Sox April 18, and though he allowed four runs in six innings against the Orioles April 23, virtually all of the damage came in just one inning.
Little has gone according to plan in Toronto this spring, from the last place team’s 9-16 record to the crippling ankle injury sustained by former Mets star Jose Reyes and faulty defense.
At the top of the list is the subpar start by Dickey, who was expected to be the team’s ace after he was obtained for catcher John Buck and top prospects Travis D’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard to the Mets as part of a seven-player deal and given a three-year, $29 million contract.
Dickey said he hopes to begin the turnaround today.
“It’s important for us to win one game and then go from there,” he said.