Matt Waldron is the most successful knuckleballer since R.A. Dickey, and is achieving his success in a unique way, mixing in the knuckleball with four other regularly used pitches. Unlike Steven Wright’s curveball, or the eephus pitch that Dickey threw on occasion, Waldron effectively tunnels his cutter, sinker, sweeper and four-seamer with each other, giving him a complete repertoire even without the knuckleball.

This is simplified by Waldron‘s relatively smooth delivery for a knuckleballer, and is necessary due to the lack of consistency in his knuckleball spin compared to some of the knuckleballing greats, like Dickey, Tim Wakefield and the Niekro brothers. Waldron’s unprecedented approach to knuckleball usage has been effective thus far, particularly at limiting exit velocity.

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