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Phil Niekro

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Phil Niekro
Niekro signing an autograph in 1982
Pitcher
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
debut
April 15, 1964, for the Milwaukee Braves
Last appearance
September 27, 1987, for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics
Win–Loss record318–274
Earned run average3.35
Strikeouts3,342
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards
[[{{{hoflink}}}|Member of the {{{hoftype}}}]]
[[{{{hoflink}}}|Baseball Hall of Fame]]
Induction1997
Vote80.34%

Philip Henry Niekro (born April 1, 1939) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

A native of Blaine, Ohio, Niekro attended Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio, and was a boyhood friend of NBA player John Havlicek. Phil and his younger brother, fellow major league pitcher Joe Niekro, learned to throw a knuckleball from their father Joe Niekro, Sr. in their backyard as kids.

With 318 career victories, Niekro is the winningest knuckleball pitcher of all time, and currently ranks 16th on the all-time wins list[1]. He also won the National League Gold Glove Award five times. Phil and Joe Niekro are the winningest brother combination in baseball history, with 539 wins combined. Phil Niekro's 121 career victories after the age of 40 is a major league record, and his longevity is attributed to the knuckleball, which, while a difficult pitch for pitchers to master, is easy on the arm and difficult for batters to hit. His usage and skill level with the knuckleball earned him the nickname of "Knucksie" later in his career. He is also the uncle of former first baseman and current pitcher for the Atlanta Braves Lance Niekro. The baseball field in Phil's hometown of Bridgeport, Ohio has been named Niekro Diamond in honor of Phil and Joe Niekro.

Career with the Braves

Niekro pitched for 20 seasons for the Atlanta Braves (two of those seasons when the team was still in Milwaukee). He was popular in the city of Atlanta for remaining loyal to a team that often had a losing record, as well as for his contributions to Atlanta charities. On August 5, 1973, Niekro no-hit the San Diego Padres. The no-hitter was the first for the Braves since they moved to Atlanta. He was often the only star on the Braves teams. In 1979, for example, Niekro tied his brother for the league lead with 21 wins while playing for a team that only won 66. During his tenure in Atlanta, Niekro was selected for five All-Star Teams, won five gold gloves, led the league in victories twice and earned run average once.

Niekro was also a key to the only two division titles Atlanta won before 1991. In 1969, he had a 23–13 season with a 2.56 ERA and finished second in Cy Young balloting to New York Mets sensation Tom Seaver. He lost his only appearance in the NLCS, as he and his Braves were swept by the Mets. In 1982, at the age of 43, Niekro led the Braves' pitching staff with a 17–4 season. On October 1, with the Braves clinging to a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Niekro beat the San Diego Padres almost single-handedly by throwing a complete game shutout and hitting a two run home run.

Niekro would start game one of the subsequent NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals and pitch well, but the game would be called on account of rain just before it became official. He pitched six innings of game two and left with a 3–2 lead. However, the Cardinals scored 2 runs off the bullpen to win the game and eventually sweep the series.

Career after the Braves

The Braves released Niekro after the 1983 season and he signed with the New York Yankees and went on to win 16 games and make the last of his five All-Star appearances. It was while pitching for the Yankees that Niekro gained entry into the 300 win club with a shutout win over the Toronto Blue Jays on October 6, 1985. At 46 years, 188 days, Niekro became the oldest pitcher to pitch a shutout in the major leagues; this record stood for nearly 25 years before Jamie Moyer (47 years, 170 days) bested the feat in May 2010; for Niekro, this complete-game shutout would be his 300th win.. He did not throw his trademark knuckleball until the final hitter.[2]

After two seasons in New York, Niekro pitched for the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays in 1986 and 1987. The Blue Jays released him after he pitched ineffectively, and the Braves brought him back for one last start to wrap up his career late in the 1987 season. At the age of 48, Niekro was the oldest player in major league history to play regularly until broken by Julio Franco, and his 24 seasons in the major leagues without a World Series appearance is a major league record. His total of 5,404⅓ innings pitched is the most by any pitcher in the post-1920 live-ball era. He only appeared in the post season twice, making a playoff start in 1969 and again in 1982, both for Braves teams that would go on to lose the series.

Post-playing career

After the end of his professional baseball career, Niekro managed the all-women Colorado Silver Bullets baseball team. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1997. Niekro tutored his nephew, Lance Niekro to throw a knuckleball after his unsuccessful stints as a power-hitting first base prospect with the San Francisco Giants.[3] Neikro was a good enough tutor to help Lance earn a minor-league contract with the Atlanta Braves preceding the 2009 season.

Currently, Niekro is a member of the Kiz Toys Board of Advisors. Kiz Toys is a toy company based out of Cumming, Georgia, and Niekro advises the company on the KizSport baseball line, reviewing product designs and development on an ongoing basis and offering suggestions on current and future products.

Quotations

  • "Trying to hit him (Phil Niekro) is like trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks." – Bobby Murcer, who batted only .208 with no home runs (all 10 of his hits were singles) in 48 career at-bats against Niekro.

On Niekro's knuckleball:

  • "Trying to hit that thing is a miserable way to make a living," and "I work for three weeks to get my swing down pat and Phil (Niekro) messes it up in one night." – both quotes by Pete Rose
  • "It giggles as it goes by," and "When I swing, don't laugh." – both quotes by Rick Monday
  • "Hitting Niekro's knuckleball is like eating soup with a fork." - Richie Hebner

Career statistics

W L PCT ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER R HR BB SO WP HBP
318 274 .537 3.35 864 716 245 45 29 5404.1 5044 2012 2337 482 1809 3342 226 123

See also

References

  1. ^ List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
  2. ^ Quinn, T.J. (2003-09). "Road to 300: with Roger Clemens becoming the 21st pitcher to win 300 big league games, here are the stories of seven others who reached the same milestone". Baseball Digest. Retrieved 2008-11-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ [1]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by National League ERA Champion
1967 		Succeeded by
Preceded by No-hitter pitcher
August 5, 1973 		Succeeded by
Preceded by National League Wins Champion
1974 (with Andy Messersmith)
1979 (with Joe Niekro) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by National League Strikeout Champion
1977 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1979 		Succeeded by
Preceded by National League Gold Glove Award (P)
1978–1980
1982–1983 		Succeeded by
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