In an era of free-swinging sluggers in Major League Baseball, David Fletcher was a true throwback.

Fletcher, who played seven seasons for the Los Angeles Angels and Atlanta Braves, was a pure contact hitter, never striking out more than 64 times in a season. He managed just 16 home runs in 539 career games, but racked up 560 hits and a sturdy .276 batting average.

Then, Fletcher tried something rogue, becoming a knuckleball pitcher in the Braves' minor-league organization early in the season last year. Altough he never made it back to the big leagues after commencing the experiment, he did manage to throw 100 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last year, totaling a 6.38 ERA.

There will be no more pitching or hitting for Fletcher, however, at least in the professional ranks. The 3

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