Knuckleballers are a wild card. When they have a bad night and the knuckler isn’t moving well, they have an atrocious night. But when it’s working, they can go a complete game
I miss the old fashioned knuckle ballers. That doesn't necessarily apply to Waldron, though, as he throws the knuckler a lot harder than a traditional knuckle ball pitcher did, and mostly throws fastball slider throughout the game, mixing in the knuckler as needed.
Like others have said, Waldron doesn't NEED the knuckler to be on, he needs to be locating his fastball more than anything else. If his fastball isn't working, he can't setup his slider and knuckleball well. Thinking of his knuckleball as an off speed pitch is a better way of looking at it.
@@TheSkyline5467 interestingly tho hes been using the knuckleball a LOT more in his last few outings and it seems to be paying off... i think its like some 40% of his pitches now compared to just over 30% at the beginning of the season, seems to be getting him better results as well
There’s something beautiful about watching these men of extraordinary ability walk back to the dugout, the look on their faces reading “dammit, I’m GOOD at this game.”
Matty Knuckles has stepped up big time since last year. He's more than just a knuckle baller as well. He's got some good stuff sitting at low 90s, but he's been putting it together nicely as of recently.
It's not always cleanest knuckleball at times, but he gets it to move. The one to Mookie was amazing and the high one to Berger had a lot of funky movement too.
This guy has a huge ceiling IMHO. RA Dickey also threw the "angry" knuckleball at or above 80 mph, however, this guy's fastball is way better getting into the low to mid 90's with ease. In the era of baseball trackman and "number crunching" its nice to see this art come back. I really believe the knuckleball is the most misunderstood pitch around. It is possible to control it, but it really takes a higher level of "brain integration" and mind body connection to execute it correctly. And this type of thinking in MLB has been getting flushed out in favor of "metrics." How did Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus hit 2 irons front 240 yards out to one foot? Make those 15 foot putts drop in every clutch moment? Pure higher states of consciousness.
dude those pitches are wild. i'm for sure NOT a padres fan, but it's fun watching waldron hurl. his balls seem to rotate a little more than some of those old-timer knuckleballers, but i'm all in. this dude is cool.
The first 2 pitches of the video sum it all up 😂 same batter same pitch ball drops in the first freezing him, he expects the second to do the same and swings under it 😎 that’s the KNUCKLEBALL 💪🏼🔥😂😂
I only played until high school lol but one kid on another team could throw a 75mph knuckleball and I remember just laughing in the dugout after striking out for the 3rd time in the game because it's so unpredictable it's almost impossible to hit, you can really only foul them off if you're lucky.
It is meant to be the slowest pitch as you are jamming your main throwing fingers into the seems, or pushing it against your first knuckle. Your grip will show the batter your knuckles, hence the name. You then release it with a flat strong wrist and push the ball off your fingertips at your final release. If done correctly, the ball should be slow and have little to no spin. The lack of spin causes the ball to move erratically through the air making it near impossible to know where it will land. Hence, you see a lot of good catchers even miss the ball completely on a great knuckleball since the baseball's path is random and unpredictable.
If you look at his stats he doesn't get run support. He has some games where he gets blown up but he's also had quality starts that the offense did nothing with.
Why pitchers, or even position players, aren't learning how to throw this during offseason stuns me. So, career stagnant or winding down and you got pretty good at this during a couple of off seasons, but it didn't pay off? OK, you gave it a shot. Or stuck in the minors making zilch and you show this off? Right ball club will be curious.
MLB, let's get some action taken towards teaching young women to throw the knuckleball. We should already have a dozen or so female knuckleballers by now.
Knuckleballers are a wild card. When they have a bad night and the knuckler isn’t moving well, they have an atrocious night. But when it’s working, they can go a complete game
I miss the old fashioned knuckle ballers. That doesn't necessarily apply to Waldron, though, as he throws the knuckler a lot harder than a traditional knuckle ball pitcher did, and mostly throws fastball slider throughout the game, mixing in the knuckler as needed.
@@TheSkyline5467 Yea Waldron is more protected from this issue as he is not a full time Knuckleballer.
Like others have said, Waldron doesn't NEED the knuckler to be on, he needs to be locating his fastball more than anything else. If his fastball isn't working, he can't setup his slider and knuckleball well. Thinking of his knuckleball as an off speed pitch is a better way of looking at it.
@@TheSkyline5467 interestingly tho hes been using the knuckleball a LOT more in his last few outings and it seems to be paying off... i think its like some 40% of his pitches now compared to just over 30% at the beginning of the season, seems to be getting him better results as well
@@PadresEnjoyer when he rose through the minors a couple years ago he was using it like 60-70 percent of the time
Cool to see the knuckleball appear again thanks to Waldron
I like dancing 🕺
There’s something beautiful about watching these men of extraordinary ability walk back to the dugout, the look on their faces reading “dammit, I’m GOOD at this game.”
A knuckleball for the strike is just as entertaining as a good home run
Matty Knuckles has stepped up big time since last year. He's more than just a knuckle baller as well. He's got some good stuff sitting at low 90s, but he's been putting it together nicely as of recently.
Darvish is my favorite Padre pitcher but Waldron is entertaining as well.
@@ふうかんことマダオ Darvish is the best but this video was not about him, that's true.
You can’t appreciate the movement on a good knuckleball until you’ve caught one in person.
It's not always cleanest knuckleball at times, but he gets it to move. The one to Mookie was amazing and the high one to Berger had a lot of funky movement too.
I heard he throws mostly fastballs and his off speed pitch is a knuckleball. That's unique
Es mas dificil de dominar que una curva o slider.
Es salvaje e intocable
Ya que es de por si indomable,para el propio pitcher
An 82 MPH knuckleball is insane!!
The ones he threw to Freddie and mookie were out of this world
Diamond Dynasty legend
This guy has a huge ceiling IMHO.
RA Dickey also threw the "angry" knuckleball at or above 80 mph, however, this guy's fastball is way better getting into the low to mid 90's with ease.
In the era of baseball trackman and "number crunching" its nice to see this art come back. I really believe the knuckleball is the most misunderstood pitch around. It is possible to control it, but it really takes a higher level of "brain integration" and mind body connection to execute it correctly. And this type of thinking in MLB has been getting flushed out in favor of "metrics."
How did Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus hit 2 irons front 240 yards out to one foot? Make those 15 foot putts drop in every clutch moment? Pure higher states of consciousness.
dude those pitches are wild. i'm for sure NOT a padres fan, but it's fun watching waldron hurl. his balls seem to rotate a little more than some of those old-timer knuckleballers, but i'm all in. this dude is cool.
Waldron has been a top 5 starter in all of MLB over his last 5 starts. Love his story!
Do you like dancing?
4:22 my goodness! He made Chazz Jism look silly!
He’s cheating
Really??? This guy's name is Jizm?
Jazz said he has the best pitch in baseball
I’ve never seen a knuckleball with that much spin before
He chooses to throw a faster knuckle ball which is interesting
Not far from batting practice
It has overspin which is fine. It's when it has backspin that it turns into a batting practice pitch.
Not exactly a Tim Wakefield knuckler, but a KN nonetheless. Hope Waldron keeps developing it
knuckleballs are the best.
If all of the fans in the stadium blew air out of their mouths as hard as possible towards the batters box, and the knuckleballs would be CRAZY😂
The first 2 pitches of the video sum it all up 😂 same batter same pitch ball drops in the first freezing him, he expects the second to do the same and swings under it 😎 that’s the KNUCKLEBALL 💪🏼🔥😂😂
His knuckle in the show MOVES. And I mean MOVES.
San Diego native
When both Darvish and
Musgrove went down, Matt was cash money for a month and a half
Giants fan here. Mike yaztremski is a strike out master!
Beautiful dancing pitches, super nice
Love this guy! Bought his jersey...now I need a Chihuahuas hat
I only played until high school lol but one kid on another team could throw a 75mph knuckleball and I remember just laughing in the dugout after striking out for the 3rd time in the game because it's so unpredictable it's almost impossible to hit, you can really only foul them off if you're lucky.
How can he throw it 80mph? That is insane!
The knuckleball in baseball almost seems somewhat similar to the hook shot in basketball. It’s the most difficult pitch to learn let alone master.
Didnt see Waldron in NLDS when Dodgers spanked that rear.
I don’t even understand what I’m watching. It looks like the batters are whiffing meatballs. Knucklers are wild
4:13 - 4:14 = a glitch in the matrix!
Damn, just looks like a changeup
You can call a thesaurus a “synonym dictionary”
Seems like he throws it enough to got it down, but not enough that hitters remember he throws it.
How tf does he throw a knuckle at 82, that’s crazy
Thats a nasty pitch, and hes getting better every time he thows it 💪
How do you tell it’s a knuckleball?
It is meant to be the slowest pitch as you are jamming your main throwing fingers into the seems, or pushing it against your first knuckle. Your grip will show the batter your knuckles, hence the name.
You then release it with a flat strong wrist and push the ball off your fingertips at your final release. If done correctly, the ball should be slow and have little to no spin. The lack of spin causes the ball to move erratically through the air making it near impossible to know where it will land. Hence, you see a lot of good catchers even miss the ball completely on a great knuckleball since the baseball's path is random and unpredictable.
From the rotation and movement. He throws his a bit faster than most though.
My favorite player in 2024
I love him but in half these clips he's getting rocked
he started bad, but last half dozen starts or so, he has been lights out
In the show the speed is 58-62mph😂
필니크로 찰리허프같은 전설적인 너클볼러가 mlb에 나타나길 바란다
His knuckler spins a bit
That's more of a knuckle curve than a true knuckleball. He's making sure that what little spin is there is top spin, so that the ball will dive.
@1:40
Mets need to look at him, make a trade
Its all i know how to throw.
It looks like it's straight then all a sudden it dips
He’s averaging the least amount of rotations on his knuckle ball of all time 😳
MLB The Show fans are shaking
But does this produce wins for the team?
If you look at his stats he doesn't get run support. He has some games where he gets blown up but he's also had quality starts that the offense did nothing with.
@@goofball1_134 yes true, the padres offense is abysmal per usual
Why pitchers, or even position players, aren't learning how to throw this during offseason stuns me. So, career stagnant or winding down and you got pretty good at this during a couple of off seasons, but it didn't pay off? OK, you gave it a shot. Or stuck in the minors making zilch and you show this off? Right ball club will be curious.
In some circles, knuckleballers aren't respected as being real pitchers.
Kind of like a bassist is someone who failed on guitar.
Lol every new clip the score changes. Must not be working that good.
He's been one of the best starters in baseball over his last 5. Idk if that tells you anything.
bad start to the year, but won 4 out of the last 5 games. been pretty lights out lately
MLB, let's get some action taken towards teaching young women to throw the knuckleball. We should already have a dozen or so female knuckleballers by now.
No
For what most girls play soft ball I've nvr even heard of a female baseball league tbh an u certainly aren't implying them to pitch mlb right ?
Seems like a lot of movement for a knuckle ball
Too much rotation.
Go show him how it’s done.: and it’s too…
If it works, it works
Too much haters
Seems like he always pitches well enough to always lose
Little to much spin...