Todd Frazier Pitches, Gets Called Strikeout on 55 mph Knuckleball

The last time anyone remembers Todd Frazier pitching was in the 1998 Little League World Series — where he was a star for Toms River (NJ), going 4-for-4 with a leadoff homer and also striking out the final batter — but certainly Friday night changed that.

Well, at least for Adam Duvall.

The Mets were down 15-2 against the Braves, and at that point, who cares… but Frazier took the bump and had a 1-2-3 inning. It included a called third strike on Duvall.

With this strikeout, @FlavaFraz21 and @JdeGrom19 have combined to throw 1,336 career strikeouts. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/henCR556X3

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 19, 2020

The knuckleball that he got Duvall looking on was clocked at 55.3 mph. That is the seventh-slowest strikeout pitch in the pitch-tracking era began in 2008.

Frazier mixed in his fastball — at 68 mph — to give that knuckle some deception.

“I thank him for going out there doing that,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said after the game. “We were searching for the possibility of having a guy who could do it. … Frazier was like, right away he was volunteering, basically, to do it.”