Hudson Valley Knuckleballer Signs With Major League Team

According to Wikipedia, a knuckleball is a baseball pitch thrown so as to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion.

While it is very difficult for batters to hit, it is also difficult for pitchers to actually control, as well as for catchers to catch, and umpires to properly call.

That said, the unusual pitch has helped LaGrange's V.J. Collins land a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal. 

V.J. was actually not a standout player in high school. As a senior, he was a second-string infielder for Arlington High School in 2010. He only pitched in one game as a senior.

He would go to play college ball at both Dutchess Community College and then for Manhattanville College in Purchase.

He had made as far as playing for an independent league team known as the San Rafael Pacifics, before deciding to return to Manhattanville and take a job as a pitching coach.

Then, everything changed for the 24 year-old with the help of his older sister Nicole.

Nicole Collins, who is a lawyer, believed in her brother and his knuckleball so much that she took it upon herself to contact the Tampa Bay Rays, as well as the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Against all odds, the assistant director of minor league operation for the Rays returned Nicole's messages and enquired about her brother's famed knuckleball.

Nicole sent the organization a two minute demo video. This lead to a tryout at Dutchess Stadium.

After a long and anxious wait, Collins signed a contract with the Rays on Monday the following day, he reported to the Rays' minor-league affiliate in Port Charlotte, Florida.

Congrats!