KNUCKLEBALLER Matt Waldron’s Full Debut!!

Matt Waldron’s full debut showcasing all 62 pitches with the selected pitch shown on screen. His stat line was 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 SO, 1 BB, and 4 hits. He ended with a loss. The game ended 2-0 Nationals. For Lane Thomas’s homerun there is no audio, I’m not sure why and I can’t find any readably available videos with audio.

Pitch Abbreviations:
4SFB - 4-Seam Fastball
SL - Slider
KN - Knuckle Ball
CUT - Cutter
SNK - Sinker

Check pinned comments for my full thoughts on Waldron.

Game from June 24, 2023

[naMnivraM]

I grew up in the 80s when there were Knuckleball pitchers. It was all I threw playing catch for a long time to get the hang of it. My son played AAA baseball and I was playing catch with his coach just lobbing them to try to get them to do 1 ½ to 2 rotations. He asked me to throw one hard, cause I don't think he thought I could throw one with velocity. I threw one as hard as I could (for me about 60 to 65mph, I was in my forties, and only played catch, not pitched in years) and it was probably the best knuckle I've thrown in my life. The bottom fell out of it and it dropped 1 foot and a half. It started at his chest and at the last second it dropped at his nuts. He flicked his glove down and barely caught it. His reaction was priceless. Nobody practices the knuckle anymore. My favorite pitch by far! I was never a fast pitcher, but there was something about the unpredictability of the knuckleball. You start it on target, get the right spin, then see what it does. Because... even though you threw it on target, it could go just about anywhere if you threw it right. That's special... ❤👊⚾

[Widowmaker]

Has a very good knuckleball and the fact that he relies on it more in the later stages is always a good trait. Start them out with the hard stuff, fastball, cutter, and occasional slider. Then throw off their rhythm with a knuckle ball in the middle innings. That slide is absolutely filthy but he needs to get more control of it. Definitely left it out over the plate too much. But once he dials in his control of it, that’s gonna be a a very tough pitch to hit. Overall a solid debut even with the two long bombs. Needs a little help from his offense though

[ultra_toxic]

If he figures out that slider and stops hanging he’ll be deadly

[rpr]

The knuckleball he throws Abrams on the 1-1 count in 5th is super filthy. Throw the slider to righties (don't hang it) and throw the knuckler to lefties. They do the opposite and work best against those sides. The first homerun was a pitch left over the middle but the second one was just a good swing. Ball was on the outside part of the plate and Thomas pulled it to left. He did get away with a few mistakes left over the middle. Such a unique knuckleball though. I like his stuff.

[paulcypher]

Can’t miss middle middle but he did well keeping his composure during a very emotional (rightfully so) first outing

[wheelinthesky]

Needs to throw more Knuckles.
That's basically his curveball.

[Roy-orev]

Phil Niekro on hurling knuckleballs after giving up a homerun: "It isn't where you've been; it's where you're going." In other words, continue tossing your knuckler about 70% of the time, continually varying its velocity.
🤩

[yeaandsowhat]

I would'nt call him a "knuckleballer" but its awesome to see pitchers still using it. The best pitch imo

[redsnflr]

If your knuckleball is in the 80's it seems like it'll work more like a changeup(less side-to-side darting)

[UpAndComingMLB]

Here are my thoughts on Waldron:

Waldron is our first knuckleballer since Mickey Jannis in 2021 and one of 6 pitchers in the last decade with it. You could tell hitters were fearing the knuckleball so much that they were whiffing badly on regular fastballs. I think the rest of Waldron’s arsenal is pretty below average, the fastball only sits around 92 MPH and there isn’t any crazy movement in the rest of his pitches. I think once hitters see him a few times, he’ll have much less success and hitters will get used to the knuckleball. I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds some success in the majors, but it doesn’t seem like the Padres want to see it through, with him already getting sent back down yesterday.

[tylerj]

If his slider would break more & he was able to get his fastball to move a bit more I think he could be really good. For now I could see him as a good relief pitcher. I'd be interested to see him develop a curveball or splitter then see what he would be like after developing those 2 pitches & use them in conjunction with the rest of his arsenal including the knuckleball

[andrewaaberg]

I'm really excited to watch this guy this year. Padres rotation shaped up a hell of a lot better than I expected it to with the addition of Cease.

[XXelpollodiabloXX]

1:10 That was like 12 inches of break starting at the grass cutout. That is utter filth if he can place it.

[CalderaFinance]

Give him some run support and this guy's gonna be great.

[thickerconstrictor]

He made a couple mistakes and they took him deep but solo shots. Cant expect a starter not to give up any runs. Got to get some run support for your pitchers. He's got a couple small issues that he probably needs to iron out but based on that he's going to be fun to watch

[bst]

Tiene gran repertorio, su nudillo a veces se mueve brutal, su slider necesita mas rompimiento

[thenext]

That slider was filth. The KN is filthy too. It's like RA Dickey, but more speed but not quite there yet with it. Also has more tools than Dickey had, which is interesting. I don't even like Padres, but I love pitching.

[Roy-orev]

The great knuckleballer Phil Niekro advised Tom Candiotti, known as a conventional pitcher (i.e., fastball, curve, and straight change-up) to begin gradually increasing his use of knuckleballs until he was hurling them 75 - 80 % of the time, and relying on fastballs and curveballs only 20% of the time. Under Phil's tutelage, Tom became a very good knuckleballer. Matt needs to train himself to use Niekro's mantra, which was, "Knuckleball, knuckleball, knuckleball!" Even when Phil was simply playing catch with a teammate on the sidelines, he repeatedly soft-tossed knuckleballs! Know wonder players gave him the moniker "Knucksie."
👍

[texomabenefits]

It looks like the catcher wanted to get through the lineup once with out relying on the KN. His second time through the lineup was much better.

[fitter]

He’s got good command of his fastball. He def needs to get alittle more command on that slider though. Can’t hang that thing in the majors. Them
Guys will make him pay for it. Knuckle ball is nice. He’s going to be good for a long time.