The knuckleball is back.
A pitch almost extinct in Major League Baseball will make its return in earnest on Monday night. That’s when the San Diego Padres will send Matt Waldron to the mound to take on the Philadelphia Phillies.
Waldron, a 28-year old right-hander, throws the knuckler as his primary pitch.
He began the season injured, and then when he returned from injury, Waldron was sent to Triple-A El Paso. In the hitter-friendly environment there, he had a 5.24 ERA in five starts with 22 strikeouts in 22.1 innings pitched.
The Padres needed a starter on Monday, though, and so they called on Waldron.
He has pitched in 35 major league games across the 2023 and 2024 seasons. In that span, he’s 8-14 with a 4.79 ERA and 164 strikeouts in 188 innings pitched.
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Regardless of numbers, though, it’s still a magical pitch.
The knuckleball flutters to the plate with no spin, making it unpredictable.
Hitters never see knuckleballs, either, making it an odd adjustment.
The Phillies’ powerful lineup might look forward to taking big swings against the floating offering, but it could prove difficult.
It’s not clear whether Waldron will stick around at MLB, either, but for the sake of that, hopefully his first start goes well. Baseball is better with a knuckleball flitting around through the air somewhere in a major league ballpark.
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