With a glowing phone in his hand and matching grin on his face, Luke Jackson tapped Tyler Matzek on the shoulder to ask for his editorial blessing.
The two relievers had just helped their Braves beat the Brewers, 3-0, in Game 2 of the 2021 NLDS. Matzek struck out three over 1.1 scoreless innings after inheriting two runners from Jackson in the bottom of the seventh, so the latter wanted to show some love on social media.
“Tyler Nutzack,” Jackson typed on his screen. “That’s it. That’s the tweet.”
“I thought it was funny,” said Max Fried, who started that day. “It just represents the type of competitor he is out there. He’s gonna leave everything out on the line.”
Tyler Nutzack.
That’s it that’s the tweet.
— Luke Jackson (@YaBoy77) October 10, 2021
Matzek also found the loose play on his name hilarious, though he and Jackson briefly stopped to consider what their employer might say.
“Do you think the Braves will be mad?” Jackson pondered before throwing caution to the wind.
It only took a few minutes for the Braves to retweet the post, a ringing endorsement for a moniker that has been attached to Matzek ever since. The lefty even inscribes “Nutsack” beneath his signature, and he owns a custom chain featuring two gold peanuts.
Sometimes, Matzek wears the necklace during games, though it didn’t follow him to the latest stop on his winding journey: the Yankees’ clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
“When the occasion arises, I’ll put it on,” the non-roster invitee told The Daily News. “I’m not afraid of it.”
***
Matzek, who won the 2021 World Series with Atlanta and owns a 1.48 ERA over 20 postseason games, earned his nickname for his ballsy performances in pressure-packed situations. Yet fright once threatened to end the 34-year-old’s career before it could take off.
A first-round pick in 2009, Matzek debuted with the Rockies in 2014, recording a 4.05 ERA over 117.2 innings. Matzek should have found his season fruitful as a rookie pitcher calling Coors Field home, but high expectations for himself turned into anxiety as he sought improvement in his sophomore season.
That unease manifested in a lack of command. Matzek walked 19 batters in his first 22 big league innings in 2015, a stretch that included two six-walk outings. When the Rockies demoted him, he responded by issuing seven free passes over one inning in his first start back at Triple-A.
The problem became clear at that point: Matzek had the yips.
“You’re unable to make a throw 10 feet as a professional baseball player,” he said. “It’s a mental thing. It’s just an overreaction to fear.”
If Matzek wanted to control the ball, he had to learn how to control his fear, “opposed to letting it tear you apart,” he explained.
That took time, and thoughts of retirement infiltrated Matzek’s mind long before he stepped on another big league mound.
In fact, Matzek found himself ready to quit after the White Sox released him at the end of spring training in 2017. Months went by without interest from other clubs, so the Mission Viejo, California native signed up for some classes at nearby Saddleback College.
The decision devastated his wife, Lauren.
“She broke down crying,” Matzek recalled. “She said, ‘No, I think you have more to offer the game. I don’t want you to give up.’ And I was telling her, ‘I’m not making any money doing this. We’re just gonna keep slowly draining money.’ She said, ‘I don’t care.’
“It was the ah-ha wakeup moment. If she can go through that pain and suffering and she’s willing to sign up for that, then what am I doing here feeling sorry for myself?”
About two months later, Matzek received a call from former Rockies teammate Michael McKenry. The catcher invited Matzek to live with him in Nashville for a week. He provided more than just a place to crash.
“I need you to come out here and work with this guy,” McKenry told Matzek.
That guy turned out to be Jason Kuhn, a former Navy Seal and pitcher turned mental skills coach. Kuhn battled the yips himself at Tennessee State, and he’s made a career out of helping athletes slay the condition.
Kuhn spent months working with Matzek following their introduction. Matzek called their sessions “hardcore.”
“It was a grind,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t enjoy it, but I’m happy having gone through it, because it made me a better baseball player, a better person today.”
***
Matzek returned to pro ball in 2018 with the independent Texas AirHogs. Walks remained an issue, but he inked a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks in 2019 following a showcase at Driveline, the data-driven Seattle facility.
Arizona released Matzek that May, prompting a second stint with the AirHogs. Matzek impressed this time, totaling a 2.64 ERA and 53 strikeouts over 30.2 innings. He still walked 19 hitters, but the Braves gave him a chance that summer.
In 2020, Matzek cracked Atlanta’s Opening Day roster and returned to the majors for the first time in five years. The yips conquered, he posted a sub-3.00 ERA over 21 games. He did the same over 69 appearances in 2021, establishing himself as one of the nastiest pitchers in a championship bullpen.
“His journey is very admirable,” said Fried, reunited with Matzek on the Yankees. “It’s a testament to who he is and what he’s been able to overcome.”
Unfortunately for Matzek, a few injuries interrupted his 2022 campaign, and he ultimately underwent Tommy John surgery that October. The operation sidelined him for all of 2023.
Matzek didn’t look like the reliever the Braves had come to know when he returned in 2024, as he allowed 11 earned runs over 10 innings to start the season. Matzek has not pitched in the majors since, as he suffered a setback and went on the injured list with elbow inflammation before being traded to the Giants last July.
He only threw in five games for San Francisco’s Triple-A affiliate before reuniting with Atlanta on a minor league contract.
Another minor league deal followed in February, this time with the Yankees. The club had signed Fried in December, and the two friends stayed in touch throughout the winter.
Matzek also spent part of his offseason throwing at UC Irvine. There, Gerrit Cole happened to see a healthy-looking southpaw who had added a two-seam fastball to his arsenal. The ace, who competed against Matzek in high school, told Yankees GM Brian Cashman, and a scout eventually went to watch.
Now Matzek is well-positioned to be the club’s next NRI success story.
“You feel like we got something there,” Aaron Boone told reporters after Matzek logged a scoreless inning in his spring debut on Feb. 25. The manager added that Matzek could “absolutely factor in” to a bullpen that appears to have a few openings due to injuries.
Matzek is thankful for the opportunity, as well as a clean bill of health. He feels like himself after a difficult Tommy John recovery, though he’s not promising a return to the form that earned him the nickname “Nutsack.”
“I don’t know if I’m gonna be who I was three, four, five years ago,” Matzek acknowledged. “But the version of me right now is feeling really good and is excited to go out there and show what I got.”
