Inside The Padres

A Video Game Inspired Padres' Matt Waldron to Learn the Knuckleball

Maren Angus-Coombs

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
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Growing up in Omaha, Neb., Matt Waldron would play a baseball video game on his Nintendo GameCube as Tim Wakefield deployed a knuckleball over and over again. He would then toy with the pitch in the backyard with his twin brother, Mike, and sometimes use it on the field to mess with their teammates.

More than 15 years later, Waldron was sitting in an apartment in Fort Wayne, Ind., opening his laptop for a crash course in an endangered art. On the other end of the call was his childhood hero.

Waldron and Wakefield were joined by Steve Lyons, then the San Diego Padres’ director of pitching development. The call lasted two hours. Waldron, who grew up a Boston Red Sox fan, discussed finger pressure, mechanics, and routines. They had another call a few weeks later when Wakefield wanted an update about his progress.

Three years later, Waldron has become the game's only true knuckleballer. He has a 3.43 ERA and a 38.8 percent knuckleball usage rate. In his past eight starts, Waldron has pitched to a 1.80 ERA while averaging more than 40 knuckleballs per outing.

Friday, he will attend his first-ever game at Fenway Park and on Sunday, he will fulfill another dream when he starts against the Red Sox. Though Wakefield won't be there physically, the Padres pitcher hopes to feel the late pitcher's presence as he shares the mound where his hero once befuddled opponents with one of the nastiest knuckleballs thrown in Major League Baseball.

“I’m hoping to feel that presence or whatever you want to say,” Waldron said. “Just how the world goes around, kind of. I want to experience it all.”

The two never spoke again after the second Zoom call and when news of Wakefield's passing reached Waldron in Chicago where the Padres were playing the Cubs last October. He sat in his hotel room and cried.

“You kind of don’t know how much somebody means to you until something like that happens,” Waldron said.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. Despite being raised in the South, her sports obsession has always been in Los Angeles. She is currently a staff writer for the LA Sports Report Network.

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