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Former Buc & Johnson City native is primed for MLB debut

 LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Former ETSU baseball standout Landon Knack received the call that all baseball players dream about on Wednesday as he was called up to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Knack, a Johnson City native that pitched for the Bucs in 2019 and 2020, was a second-round pick by the Dodgers in the 2020 MLB Draft. 

 “Landon earned this opportunity,” said ETSU Head Baseball Coach Joe Pennucci. “He is an incredible worker and has tremendous skill. His path has not been easy at any level, but he continued to drive forward through adversity, and I believe this is just the start to another great story!”  

 When Knack debuts, he will be the first former Buccaneer to appear in a Major League game since Atlee Hammaker finished his 12-year big league career with the Chicago White Sox in 1995. Knack is scheduled to make the start for the Dodgers later this afternoon against the Washington Nationals. First pitch for that game is at 3:10 p.m. eastern time.  

 Knack has pitched well for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, the Oklahoma City Baseball Club, so far this spring. He went 0-1 with a 4.02 ERA in three starts covering 15.2 innings. Knack struck out 16 hitters in those 15.2 innings and is holding opposing hitters to a .204 batting average. In the minor leagues overall, Knack is 14-13 with a 3.44 ERA with 277 strikeouts in 243 innings pitched with stops with Oklahoma City (AAA), Tulsa Drillers (AA), Great Lakes Loons (A+) and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (A). 

 As a Buccaneer, Knack owns the school record for career ERA among players with at least 60 innings, finishing with a career mark of 2.29. In his debut season at ETSU, Knack served as the Saturday starter in 2019 and boasted a 2.60 ERA over 97.0 innings with a team-best 94 strikeouts.

 In a shortened 2020 season, Knack made four starts as the staff ace and had a team-low 1.08 ERA with a team-high 25.0 innings pitched. Knack broke the school record for single game strikeouts in the final start of his collegiate career, fanning 16 batters in six innings of work during a 13-1 win over Wagner at home. He won all four of his starts and led all NCAA pitchers in strikeouts and strikeout-to-walk ratio with 51 strikeouts and just one walk.