Pitcher mentored by former Red Sox Tim Wakefield Ready Fenway Debut

The San Diego Padres this weekend will play at Fenway Park for the first time since 2013, and it will be a special moment for their pitcher, who has shared a special bond with a Boston Red Sox legend.

Tim Wakefield was one of the most famous hurlers of the knuckleball, which has become a little-used pitch in today’s game, which prioritizes spin rate and speed. Matt Waldron is keeping that tradition alive, and the 27-year-old credited the late Red Sox for helping him in his career.

The Athletic’s Dennis Lin released a feature on Waldron on Friday that revealed former Padres director of pitching development Steven Lyons helped connect Waldron with Wakefield in 2021 to set up a Zoom call.

“Once I saw what a nice guy he was,” Waldron told Lin, “it was really nice.”

Waldron admitted to Lin that he grew up a Red Sox fan and played as Wakefield in a video game. It wasn’t until 2021 that he really looked to add the knuckleball to his arsenal, and he and Wakefield spoke for over two hours about “finger pressure, mechanics and routines.”

Wakefield kept in touch while Waldron worked on knuckleball in the minors, and on Sunday he will fulfill his dream of starting at Fenway Park.

“I hope I feel that presence or whatever you want to say,” Waldron said. “How the world goes round, sort of. I want to experience everything.”

Waldron’s knuckleball makes up 38.8 percent of his pitching arsenal, according to Statcast. The right-hander mixes in a four-seamer and a sweeper, but Red Sox fans will see a knuckleballer for the first time since 2019, when Steven Wright was in Boston.

Xander Bogaerts has a home run this weekend, making the Red Sox-Padres series a must-watch.