San Diego Padres knuckleball pitcher Matt Waldron caught Patrick Mahomes’s eye last season with his signature pitch and inspired the Kansas City quarterback to practice his own version
Padres pitcher Matt Waldron flaunts his knuckleball(Image: Getty Images)
28-year-old knuckleballer Matt Waldron is in contention to start for the San Diego Padres against the Texas Rangers in the second game of ESPN’s Sunday Night Doubleheader. San Diego exercised one of Waldron’s minor league options after he struggled through his first start of the season on Monday against Bryce Harper and the vaunted Philadelphia Phillies lineup.
A rash of injuries to the Padres’ rotation means Waldron is in contention to start Sunday, a game he was originally slated to pitch in ahead of his demotion. This will offer another chance in the national spotlight for the young hurler; in 2024, he captured Kansas City Chiefs quarterback (and known baseball fan) Patrick Mahomes’s attention thanks to his special knuckleball.
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A video was circulating during Kansas City’s 2024 June training camp of Mahomes trying to put a little more spin than usual on the football during his throws.
The three-time Super Bowl veteran immediately knew who to credit. “I’m trying to learn the knuckleball the Waldron dude from the Padres throws,” he posted on X, quote-tweeting a video of himself spinning a pigskin.
Waldron, a childhood Chiefs fan, was aghast. “It’s kind of crazy. Like I’m living in a different universe,” he said of the Mahomes love. “I love it. You know how I love this game. It really isn’t about me. [My knuckleball] is just unique. So I’m just embracing it.”
Mahomes knows a thing or two about throwing a baseball: his father, Pat Mahomes, pitched in MLB from 1993-2003 and even appeared in the 1999 playoffs for the New York Mets.
The Chiefs quarterback tuned in at a particularly dominant stretch for Waldron: the San Diego knuckleballer twirled an impressive 2.43 ERA across the month of June last year, lowering his season ERA to under 3.50.
That was be as good as it got: he finished his 26 starts and 146.2 innings with a 4.91 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 133 strikeouts. A spring oblique injury stunted his 2025 campaign, as Waldron opened the season on the 60-day injured list.
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“It’s good to have Matt back,” Padres manager Mike Shilt said of Waldron’s return. “It was about this part of the season last year when he picked up a lot of big innings before and after the All-Star break. He was a big part of the reason why we got to where we got to last year.”
“Unfortunately, the oblique strain got him in spring training. It’s good to get him back and have him ready to go. As far as usage goes, he’s got the knuckleball and he’s going to throw it. He also has other pitches, so he and [catcher Martin] Maldonado will tag team and see what’s working and go get ‘em.”