April 16 — Luke Waddell

Columbus Clingstones broadcaster Jack Johnson visited with infielder Luke Waddell at Synovus Park in Columbus, Georgia. 

Waddell discussed his strong start to the season in a return to the Double-A level, close relationships with current teammates Tristin English and Cal Conley, and his thoughts on the Clingstones’ success with the long ball to begin the 2026 season.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Back on the Columbus Klingstones pregame show. Happy to be joined by Klingstones infielder Luke Waddell. What a great start to the season for you here in Columbus. But I want to start just by playing here in Columbus. All those years in Mississippi at the double A level, return here in 2026. It's a different ballpark, it's a different city, it's the same level, it's the same org for you. But what has been your impression about this fan base and this ballpark?

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Yeah, this park is uh crazy nice. I mean, they did a really good job. I know they put uh some good money into it, which is great. Um I mean, for the great for the Braves, great for us, great for the league though, just to kind of build a nice new park and add all these you know amenities for fans. Um yeah, Friday night was great a couple uh weeks ago, had a great crowd. Um I like the you know, on on both sides of the infield, there's kind of some, I don't know what you call it, like bleachers, but almost picnic table-y type things where people can hang out, and I think uh fans love that and they love coming to the game. And um, I haven't explored the city too much yet. I'm sure I will, but so far it's been great. The fans have been great. It's a little bit of excitement, um, which is always fun to play in front of, so you can't really beat that.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Returning to a double-A clubhouse where you see all these guys in the spring, and also a lot of these guys that you're very familiar with, one of them Cal Conley. We talked about this when I saw you in Northport a couple of weeks ago, how you check the box score and see how Cal did each night. I think people know that you grew up in the same area, but w how deep is that relationship for you guys?

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Yeah, I mean he's one of my closest friends, really. Um, so I love playing with him. I love, you know, it's been really cool being in the same organization, um, kind of seeing him develop and get better and better and kind of develop together, which has been cool. Um, but it's been great. I mean, playing with him again, it's like we never skip to beat. I mean, it's fun to play infield with him. He's a baseball player at the definition of it, so it's fun to play with someone who you know plays hard and plays the game the right way, and and that kind of um rubs off on people too. And I think this team is really talented and we can do a lot of good things this year. So I'm excited to see what what we're gonna do.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

And he was telling me last year that your guys playing together that extends from before your time in the Braves organization growing up in Cincinnati. When was the first time you were teammates with Cal?

SPEAKER_00 2:23

So I mean it goes way back, like we're from the same area, obviously, and then like there were kind of two good baseball teams at our age, like I don't know, maybe we were 10, 9, and we were on different teams, so like we knew each other early, and it was kind of like one of those, you know, hometown rivalries almost that not really a rivalry because you're 10, but and then when we were like 12 or 13, our teams kind of joined up, and you know, we played together from then until we were 18 and went to college. So yeah, I mean I've known Cal forever, and he was always like we were always middle infielder together when he was on that team against that. He was the middle infielder, good little player, and it was fun to finally join and play together, and then we've been close ever since.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

There's a lot of new that we mentioned just at the beginning of this interview. New town, new ballpark, but a lot of it's still very familiar for you, and I imagine that extends also to just how many Georgia Tech guys are on this team, including your teammate Tristan English. What was it like to play with him in college? Because he wasn't just a guy that could swing the bat in college, he was also a pretty good pitcher.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

Yeah, uh, I like telling people that he could throw because he plays a he's got a good arm and catch play, and guys are like, you should bitch. I'm like, he used to pitch. Um so yeah, he was good to play with. I mean, that year we played together, we had a good team, and he was like our little first baseman college closer, you know, two-way guys that um a few guys still do it, but not many, not many really ever did it. But yeah, he's a good player, he's got a ton of you know, pop and great hitter, and um, yeah, it's been cool to kind of reconnect with him. We didn't keep in touch that much. I saw him at a couple like weddings and stuff like that, but it's been good to play with him, um, kind of catch up, see his wife again. He's got two daughters now, which has been cool. So it's been cool.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

And also playing with him in the Braves organization. But when you guys were in college, I talked to Drew Compton, who's the third guy who went to Georgia Tech, that's often in the lineup with you guys uh here in Columbus. We were talking about that World Series style tournament that Danny Hall would have at Georgia Tech in the fall. Did you ever get to face Tristan as a pitcher any point during your Georgia Tech career?

SPEAKER_00 4:34

I don't think so. I I really don't. I'm trying to think. I mean, maybe not not off the top of my head, but those Gold White series were always fun. I mean, uh like I remember earlier in like the first two years, we actually just completely drafted a team like the seniors did. So it was just like a full draft, and then later in my college career, like the coach would give the captain like a one or two to kind of keep things like even with possession positions. Um, but I don't think I played against Tristan thinking back on it. I mean, I have a terrible memory sometimes with that kind of stuff, but I mean I played behind him a lot. He had a ton of innings that year, and it was electric. I mean, he can throw the ball, so it was cool to play behind him.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

This lineup, led by hitting coach Grant Kay, has been smashing the baseball this year. 18 home runs. Klingstones last year in April only had 10 in 22 games. You've contributed a few as well. What do you think has been the key here at the AA level getting back to the level that you'd played at for a long time, but you hadn't been here in a while. Is it that much different than AAA in any way, or what do you feel like is getting you off to this good start here?

SPEAKER_00 5:44

No, yeah, I don't think, I mean, obviously it's it's different for sure, but I mean you still have really talented arms and it's hard to get hits, but I think like that's just baseball. I mean, you try to put good swings on it and and hope, you know, hope it's a good outcome. Um, but I think we got a ton of dudes who are, you know, process kind of oriented, they go about their work, they're not worried about results, they're just going up there, trying to have good at bats and hit the ball hard. And like I think, you know, people talk about ex velocity, launch angle. I think what like people are just trying to hit the ball hard. Like that's that's the goal. When hit the ball hard, better chance to get a hit. It's that's simple. So, I mean, we're just trying to put good swings on it, and obviously the results have been great. And I think you know, if we just keep our heads down, keep working, hopefully results keep coming. But it's a really talented group who I think all like plays the game the right way, goes about their business the right way. So it's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

Wadi, you've been swinging a hot stick so far this year. It's been fun to watch. Keep it up, man.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

Thank you.