MLB

WATCH: R.A. Dickey teaches Letterman how to throw a knuckleball

The storybook season continues for R.A. Dickey.

The Mets pitcher appeared on “Late Show with David Letterman” Wednesday to discuss his late-career success – and teach the host how to throw a knuckleball.

“Are you squirting the ball out, or are you just letting it come out (with) the momentum?” Letterman asked, dumbfounded following a knuckleball demonstration.

“I would say that the sensation I feel when I throw a really good one, is like it pops out. It doesn’t feel like a squirt, but a popping,” Dickey said.

This week has been one of the biggest of Dickey’s career, with his Letterman appearance coming one day after he pitched a scoreless inning in the All Star Game.

The 37-year-old might be this season’s unlikeliest All Star, spending most of his career bouncing back and forth between the majors and minors. The Texas Rangers drafted Dickey in the first round of the 1996 draft, but after doctors noticed Dickey was missing an elbow ligament, his signing bonus decreased from $810,000 to $75,000.

Dickey, a mediocre conventional pitcher, developed a knuckleball – a pitch with minimal spin – as a last-ditch effort to prolong his career.

Eventually the Mets picked up the journeyman, and due to dedication to his new pitch, along with maturity and re-affirmed spirituality, Dickey has starred. He’s compiled 12 wins, 123 strikeouts and a 2.40 earned run average so far this season, among the league leaders in each category.

Tuesday, the longtime journeyman was throwing his knuckleball on one of baseball’s biggest stages.

He spent Wednesday throwing on another stage, tossing pitches to David Letterman, laughing as the host tried to snare pitches in his glove.

“I feel like I’m at the circus,” Dickey quipped.

No, not the circus – just David Letterman’s late-night show, the place where people go when they’ve truly made it, 15 years of struggles making Dickey’s storybook season all that sweeter.