Knuckleball pitchers are a small fraternity, and R.A. Dickey is one of its most notable members.

R.A. Dickey learned the unpredictable knuckleball pitch as a last-ditch effort to save his major league baseball career. Once he mastered its spin-free magic, it transformed his game. But for Nashville’s own knuckleball king, that journey paralleled something deeper: an epiphany that reshaped his personal life.

Once a risk-taker on and off the field, Dickey now takes his biggest risks in relationships, opening up about past trauma he once feared would push people away. In this episode, we slow down with Dickey to talk about working to end human trafficking, becoming an open book and, of course, the craziest pitch in baseball.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.