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Matt Waldron Threw Record-Breaking Knuckleball That Was a Thing of Beauty

The San Diego Padres' righty threw a knuckleball at 15 rpms.
Ryan Phillips|
Jul 24, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Matt Waldron (61) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 24, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Matt Waldron (61) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports | Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

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San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres starter Matt Waldron has brought the knuckleball back to Major League Baseball and is doing some incredible things this season. On Sunday, he made more noise, by throwing a pitch that broke a record, and some brains.

During a victorious start against the Colorado Rockies, Waldron unleashed a few mind-bending knucklers. One of those pitches had the lowest spin rate every measured by Statcast. It clocked in a 15 rpms. Yes, 15.

In a world where spiking spin rates are the goal of every pitcher in baseball, Waldron is putting together an excellent season with a pitch that barely rotates.

Video of some other incredible Waldron knuckleballs follows.

And another.

Just when hitters think they've dialed in on the knuckler, Waldron unleashes a nasty sweeper.

So far this season, the 27-year-old is 7-9, with a 3.79 ERA, a 1.15 ERA, and 116 strikeouts against 36 walks in 128 1/3 innings. But that doesn't do his campaign justice. He's been excellent after starting 1-4 with a 5.82 ERA on May 5. Since then, he's 6-5 with a 3.08 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, and 87 strikeouts in 94 1/3 innings.

Waldron has been outstanding this season and his performance has been even more important to the Padres with Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish missing significant time.

With San Diego deeply embedded in the National League playoff picture, we could see knuckleballs like this in the postseason thanks to Waldron.

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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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