Video Game Inspired Padres’ Matt Waldron to Learn Knuckleball

Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, Matt Waldron would play a baseball video game on his Nintendo GameCube while Tim Wakefield would repeatedly use a butterfly ball. He would then play with the pitch in the backyard with his twin brother, Mike, and would sometimes use it on the field to annoy his teammates.

More than 15 years later, Waldron sat in an apartment in Fort Wayne, Indiana, opening his laptop to take a crash course in a dying art. On the other end of the line 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 to check in on his progress.

Three years later, Waldron has become the game’s only true knuckleball pitcher. He has a 3.43 ERA and a 38.8% knuckleball usage rate. Over his last eight starts, Waldron has pitched to a 1.80 ERA while averaging over 40 knuckleballs per outing.

Friday will be his first game at Fenway Park, and Sunday he will fulfill another dream by starting against the Red Sox. While 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 confounded opponents with one of the meanest butterfly balls thrown in Major League Baseball.

“I hope to feel that presence or whatever you mean,” Waldron said. “Exactly how the world turns, in a way. I want to experience it all.”

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

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