Knuckleballers set to square off for 1st time in 16 years

A knuckleball pitcher is a rare sight, so for R.A Dickey and Steven Wright - who have made the dancing pitch their main weapons of choice - Saturday will be a special event.

The two pitchers will square off when the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox play at Rogers Centre, making it the first time in 16 years two knuckleballers started a game against one another.

"Yeah, we've talked quite a bit over the last four years, five years," Dickey told Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun about the upcoming start.

"I've always had an eye on him because you're always kind of looking over your shoulder to see who might be next because you want the pitch to survive. Especially later in your career, when you leave, you're hoping there's somebody there who can take the reins. He has a really good one and obviously if he has made a big-league roster, the pitch speaks for itself, it's trustworthy. I'm happy for him and I'm hoping that he does really well against everyone but us."

The last time two knuckballers squared off was Sept. 15, 2000 when Tim Wakefield and Steve Sparks took the hills for their respective clubs.

Wakefield out-dueled Sparks that day as the Red Sox were victorious over the Detroit Tigers 7-6.

Dickey and Wright are part of an exclusive club of knuckleball pitchers who've appeared in the big leagues, including Wakefield, Phil Niekro, and Charlie Hough. All were prominently featured in a 2012 documentary by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, aptly titled "Knuckleball."