TORONTO — The three years R. A. Dickey was a Met, possibly the best three years of his career, Dan Warthen, the Mets’ pitching coach, watched his bullpen sessions with great delight. Dickey was constantly tinkering with his stride, trying to perfect his knuckleball, and he would give Dave Racaniello, the bullpen catcher, fits.
“It was like trying to catch a butterfly,” Warthen said, chuckling at the memory.
Dickey won 20 games and the Cy Young Award during his final year with the Mets, was then traded to the Blue Jays, and has not quite recaptured that magic since.