The chain of knuckleballers

lar knows what I likes:

In fact, since 1908, when Eddie Cicotte made it to the major leagues for good, there has been at least one pitcher carrying the knuckleball banner in the big leagues every year – and that’s even ignoring the pitchers who only lasted 3 or 4 years in the majors. The chain of “star” knucklers is quite interesting, actually. When you look closely at it, you see that everytime one knuckleballer would retire, the next one would almost immediately take his place. It’s as if the baton was being passed from one grizzled, retiring veteran to a young, fresh-faced kid every two decades or so. And, depending on the years that you choose to demark the eras, you can even find a second chain, staggering the first. They’re both quite interesting.

Trying to figure out if this is a “Highlander” “There can be only one” kind of thing, or if it’s more of a one-old-mage-having-his-lifeforce-stolen-by-an-apprentice, Fistindantilus-Raistlin kind of thing, with the “staggering” lar refers to being akin to Dalamar’s somewhat lesser ascendance (which makes Dalamar Tom Candiotti, I guess).

Don’t look at me like that. I’m already married. I don’t need to pretend I’m not a hopeless loser anymore.