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Nebraska Cornhuskers: Matt Waldron gets the Major League call

By Oliver Vandervoort

Mar 15, 2022; Peoria, AZ, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Matt Waldron during spring training workouts at the San Diego Padres Spring Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 15, 2022; Peoria, AZ, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Matt Waldron during spring training workouts at the San Diego Padres Spring Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former Nebraska Cornhuskers star Matt Waldron is set to make his major league debut on Saturday and he’ll be throwing a knuckleball when he does.

Back in the Shane Komine, Job Chamberlain days of Nebraska baseball, it wasn’t all that strange to hear that a former Husker player was taking the mound in a Major League Baseball game. These days, however, it’s quite a rarity.

That’s why former Nebraska Cornhuskers star Matt Waldron getting the call from the San Diego Padres is plenty noteworthy. That he’s going to be throwing knuckleballs when he takes the mound is plenty noteworthy as well and not just for Nebraska fans.

The weirdest part is that, as Evan Bland wrote this spring, the pitch that got Waldron to the bigs for his debut on Saturday for the San Diego Padres, was a pitch that looked like a disaster. The Padres encouraged the former Nebraska Cornhuskers ace to give the knuckleball a shot, but he likely wished he hadn’t listened at first.

In his first start as a knuckleballer, Waldron allowed eight hits and six earned runs in five innings. He also hit three batters and allowed five steals. In his second start he allowed nine runs (three earned) in 2 2/3 innings and walked seven batters. Waldron was quite nervous about this shift in his career.

"“It was very bad. I was at a serious crossroads there. I was like, ‘Do I just go back to what I was doing?’ I was below a 3 ERA (2.74) at the time and here I am just shooting that out the window.”"

Nebraska Cornhuskers star made the right move

Waldron still hasn’t seen a ton of success, statistics-wise. This year he’s posted a 1-6 record with a 7.02 earned run average at AAA El Paso. But he has also struck out 75 batters in 66.1 innings.

Now he’s getting a chance to show off his knuckleball against the Washington Nationals on Saturday night. And it’s not like the Padres are just throwing games away. They’re 36-39 in a season that they likely felt they’d be competing for the NL West title all season.

If nothing else, it seems as though Nebraska Cornhuskers fans ought to find a way to tune into Waldron’s first Major League start on Saturday at 7:40 pm central on Saturday.

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