See also: Best Brave By Uniform Number Index
(Editor’s note: this is an edited version of an article originally published at The Braves Journal and is used here with permission.)
The best Braves to wear #68 is new to the team as of the 2020 season.
The Colorado Rockies, The Albuquerque Isotopes, The Boise Hawks, The Hartford Yardgoats, The Modesto Nuts, The Texas AirHogs, The Jackson Generals, The Mississippi Braves, The Gwinnett Braves, and finally, The Atlanta Braves. Tyler Matzek‘s journey battling performance anxiety from 2015 to 2020 is a book-worthy story of resilience and determination.
It was June 11, 2014 when Tyler Matzek put his name on the map for the Rockies, and as wild as this may be, made his debut against the Braves going 7 innings giving up 2 runs, 5 hits, 7 Ks, and 2 walks. He went on to pitch every 5th start for the rest of the 2014 season with a 4.04 ERA. The Rockies already had a few up and comers that plugged in at the top of the rotation, and with Matzek, the middle of the rotation was looking solid, as well. All eyes on 2015.
The Downhill Spiral
In Spring Training of 2015, Matzek was battling some small ailments and only collected 6 innings of work, but those were foreshadowing things to come. In those 6 innings, he struck out 7, but also walked 6. Still, he was getting people out and there wasn’t concern quite yet and Matzek managed to stay in the rotation’s plans.
The regular season started out okay for Matzek. In his first 2 outings, he pitched a total of 10 innings, only giving up 2 runs and walking 4. However, on his 3rd start of the year, he simply lost the plate and before Matzek could even blink, he had walked 15 batters in 12 innings over 3 starts. That earned him a trip to the Isotopes to “get right”. It didn’t work.
The next 2 years were a nightmare for Matzek. Riddled with performance anxiety, Matzek just lost his ability to throw the ball over the plate and no matter where he was, the results were the same.
- The Albuquerque Isotopes: 13.5 BB/9
- The Boise Hawks: 30.9 BB/9
- The Hartford Yardgoats: 22.9 BB/9
- The Modesto Nuts: 8.1 BB/9
Even when things were going the right way, there was this overwhelming stress inside me that just kept building and building and building. I just couldn’t hold that stress any longer and my game collapsed.
I don’t think this is going to define me by any means.
-Tyler Matzek 12/19/15
Love Conquers All
It was 2017, over two years into the battle with performance anxiety. Matzek’s anxiety had reached a peak and he was ready to quit baseball entirely, go back to school, and hit the restart button on his life. It was his wife that encouraged him to continue pitching.
I told him, ‘This isn’t, obviously, where we planned to be, but I’ve seen you pitch, I know what you can do.’ I told him, ‘Don’t give up until you have tried your hardest to get back to where you need to be, back to where you belong.’ As cheesy as it sounds, I knew that once he believed in himself again, he would get back to the big leagues.
-Lauren Matzek
Out of baseball entirely in 2017 and throwing on his own, Matzek got his next chance in 2018 with the AirHogs, an Independent League team in Grand Prairie, Texas. It was then that he met a coaching legend’s son, Billy Martin Jr., who convinced Matzek to go back to throwing from a higher arm angle that he used early in his career. Like Super Mario and a mushroom, this unlocked a serious upgrade in Matzek’s command and velocity, and gave him the confidence to compete again:
“That one little thing changed my command and my (velocity) — everything. Then I just continued to throw, throw, throw. I think that got the yips out of me. It also enabled me to relax. I wasn’t thinking about the mechanics anymore. I was just thinking about pitching and my delivery got much smoother. It was easier than it had been in a long time.
-Tyler Matzek
In January of 2019, after a trip to Driveline Matzek caught some eyes, and received the call he had been waiting for since 2017. The Diamondbacks inked him to a Minor League deal with an invite to spring training. However, the short sample was not kind to Matzek and Arizona released him after only 3 appearances.
Unfortunately for Matzek, no other MLB team picked him up after his release, so he went back to the Airhogs. Not sure if it was familiarity or the determination to get back to the big leagues, but Matzek put up eye popping K-rates and shrinking (yet still high) walk rates for the Airhogs. This caught the attention of a general manager always looking for the next overlooked star, and the Braves and Alex Anthopoulos inked Matzek to a Minor League deal midyear in 2019.
After spending 2.1 innings at AA Mississippi, Matzek was quickly promoted to AAA, and with lack of LH arms at the MLB level, this promotion prompted me to write this:
Why I’m Reading More into Braves Signing Tyler Matzek than Anyone on the Internet
Matzek Gets His Shot
From there, we all know the story. He didn’t get his shot in 2019 and wasn’t even a 2020 ST 2.0 invite that Alex Anthopoulos put together. However, when Brian Snitker saw the list, he requested Matzek to be included. Some Braves fans might not like Snitker’s in-game strategies, but like Bobby Cox, Snitker seems to be a good judge of talent and he gave Matzek a chance in 2020.
In a major way, Tyler Matzek reclaimed his spot as an MLB pitcher. In 2020, he finished with a 2.79 ERA, a 13.3 K/9, and a miraculous 3.3 BB/9. Whether your baseball tastebuds prefer old school numbers or new-aged metrics, Matzek was dominant:
- ERA: Top 15% of the League
- xERA: Top 10% of the League
- K/9: Top 10% of the League
- K/BB ratio: Top 15% of the League
- Barrel rate: Top 5% of the League
- Hard hit rate: Top 5% of the League
Matzek continued that dominance in the postseason, nearly mirroring his regular season results, by throwing 8.2 innings of 1.04 ERA baseball with 14.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. Under team control through 2024, the 30-year-old could be a fixture in the Braves bullpen for some time. It remains to be seen if he keeps #68.
Honorable Mention
- When Brent Blackwell first started working this series back in 2018, the best Brave to wear #68 was right-hander Ryan Weber. You can read his original write-up on him here.
- Right-hander Shae Simmons pitched to a 1.35 ERA in 2016 in 7 appearances with the Braves while wearing #68. Simmons was working his way back from UCL replacement surgery and overall he had a 2.54 ERA in 33 appearances for Atlanta before being traded to Seattle.
Who Is the Best Ever to Wear #68?
Other than a 6-game span coming back from injury in 2014, New York Yankees and Mets reliever Dellin Betances has worn #68 his entire career. Even after a rough 2020 season with the Mets, Betances owns a 2.52 ERA over the course of a 10-year career and is still one of the hardest throwers in the game. Born, raised, and starring in New York, Betances is a true son of the City That Never Sleeps.
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