At 8 years old R.A. was sexually molested over a period of months by his 13 year old babysitter. During that same summer, while playing baseball against a shed, he was then molested by a teenage boy.
Dickey's emotional response to these traumas was immersion in sport; he began tirelessly playing one sport after another: mainly football and baseball. This is an example of a psychological defense mechanism called sublimation--the channeling of emotions into a hobby or work area. R.A. was a star quarterback and pitcher in High School. Dickey's baseball talent continued in full; he was named an All -American at the University of Tennessee and pitched for Team USA at the 1996 Olympics.
R.A. was the drafted in the first round by the Texas Rangers with the 18th overall pick of the 1996 MLB Draft. Then, the dream-life came to halt: during a routine physical some concern was raised over his throwing elbow. An MRI showed no ulnar collateral ligament, the ligament stressed immensely while throwing and the same one operated on routinely through Tommy John surgery. The country's most renowned orthopedists were stumped; either Dickey was born without the ligament, or it had disintegrated over time. The Rangers then rescinded their 800-plus thousand dollar offer and instead offered him a $75,000 contract. Dickey then spent most of the next 10 years in the minor leagues, and eventually he lost most the velocity on his fastball. His only choice, as dictated to him by then Rangers pitching coach Orel Hershiser was to commit to the knuckleball--a pitch he hardly ever threw.
Dickey's career then seemed to resurface in 2006 when he was named to the Rangers starting rotation. R.A.'s debut didn't exactly go as planned; he threw 3 1/3 innings and gave up 6 home runs.
Dickey was sent back to the minors and it was at this point that his wife Anne discovered he had been having an affair. Anne kicked him out, and Dickey decided to turn to psychotherapy. Anne soon took him back.
Then, on a family trip, Dickey decided he would swim across the Missouri River, something he had been wanting to do for years. "I was looking for some way to feel like I was worth something" said R.A in an interview with ESPN.
While Dickey only got halfway and was barely able to avoid drowning, it was that moment that he decided he needed a change; he was going to live his life true and he was going to be the person he knew he could be. He decided to reveal to his therapist the secret that had been eating him up for 26 years. "There was a lot of anger that day...And after that moment there was something more child-like, more playful, more naive and sincere about him."
Dickey continued to develop his knuckleball in the minors. He decided to fully embrace the pitch and make it his own. "I would be myself with it. I would throw it hard, I would change speeds with it. And knowing that I had something to offer, and my own personality with a pitch, things started to turn."
In 2010 Dickey joined the New York Mets and had 11 wins and a 2.84 ERA, becoming one of the most effective pitchers in the National League. At 35 years old, Dickey signed a two year contract with the Mets worth $7.5 million.
He continued his emotional journey first by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise funds to combat sex-trafficking, and then my releasing his brutally honest memoir "Wherever I Wind Up".
Dickey's stellar performance has only increased this season. He's become the first pitcher in the major leagues to 10 wins, and he's also broken a long-standing Mets record with 32.2 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. He's now been called everything from possible All Star Game starter to CY Young candidate, neither of those titles at all unjustified. All this, and the season isn't half-over.
"It's been a journey that's been up, and down, and sideways, but at the end of the day I have the hope that it's really gonna end up in the right place. Just like with a knuckleball."
