Posted on 12/28/2020 9:59:22 AM PST by mac_truck
ATLANTA — Phil Niekro threw a pitch that baffled hitters and catchers. Heck, he didn’t even know where it was going most of the time.
But the knuckleball carried Niekro to more than 300 wins, earned him a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame and left him with a nickname that stuck for the rest of his life...Knucksie.
The longtime stalwart of the Atlanta Braves rotation died after a long fight with cancer, the team announced Sunday, becoming the seventh member of the Hall of Fame to pass away in 2020. He was 81.
Niekro won 318 games over his 24-year career, which ended in 1987 at age 48 after he made one final start with the Braves. The right-hander was a five-time All-Star who had three 20-win seasons with Atlanta.
Niekro also pitched for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays late in his career. Incredibly, he had 121 wins after his 40th birthday.
Niekro joined Lou Brock, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Joe Morgan and Tom Seaver as Hall of Famers who died in 2020 — the most ever to pass away in a calendar year, according to spokesman Jon Shestakofsky. “These names, and these men, will be remembered forever in Cooperstown,” he said.
Niekro was remembered by the Hall as “master of the knuckleball and a great mentor, leader and friend.”
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Phil Niekro was fun to watch. Hope he led a full life.
RIP.
Seems like some of the knuckleballers had their careers last years and years. IIRC, Hoyt Wilhelm was another example of such who played about 20 seasons.
1979 he went started 44 games and went 21-20, with 342 innings pitched.
Today’s wimps do that in two full seasons if that
If pitchers didn’t have to field, knukerballers would last even longer.
That’s what did Charlie Hough in, he became to old and fat to get over to cover first.
Mo Vaughn was too old and fat to get over and cover first, and he was the Red Sox first baseman.
I loved watching him pitch.... and the batters frustrations!
Maybe that will be MLB's next big "improvement" to the game - the designated fielder.
Went to the Yankees and won 32 games in two seasons. I doubt the Yanks would take a chance on a knuckle ball pitcher today.
Watching him was like watching a surgeon cutting somewhere in the vicinity of the problem.
Joe Garagiola said the secret to being a catcher for a knuckleballer was to get to the ball quickly after it stops rolling.
Known primarily for his knuckleball pitch and longevity, Phil won his first Gold Glove at age 39 and his fifth and final Gold Glove at age 44. Most pitchers are washed up by age 35.
See Post #12.
A tremendous gentleman and pitcher who pitched for dreadful teams. Sometimes he would relieve between starts. He always tried to go nine innings. Phil pitched until he was 47 years old.
In person, he was as fine a man as you could meet. Was married to the same woman since the stone age. One of Ohio’s true legends. Glad to see him reunited with Joe and his dad. God rest you, Phil. From a lifelong fan.
2020 was a tough year for hall of famers. It looks like God is getting Heaven ready for an all-star game.
I remember a game long ago when they slowed down the replay. You could literally see the ball move erratically as it was headed to the plate.
One of his funny little quirks was not to be photographed before changing into his uniform. I don’t know if it was a superstition or what, but he was always dressed like he was sitting on the front row at church, in absolutely glorious tailored suits.
But no pictures were allowed until he was in his Braves uniform. I saw this firsthand in my radio days. One of the few times it was better to be on radio than doing television or you had to wait to interview him.
Niekro joins a starting rotation that includes Tom Seaver, Bob Gibson, and Whitey Ford, with Ron Perranoski in the bullpen. Along with Joe Morgan, Al Kaline, Lou Brock, Dick Allen, Jim Wynn, and Bob Watson, among others. Yeah, 2020 has not been kind to baseball stars of the past.
I did not know that Morgan was gone. Good grief. He was the best second baseman I ever saw, on the best team I ever saw. The 1976 Reds.
Gibson shook me, but Lou Brock, oh my goodness. That one hurt...
i saw a lot of Braves games in the late 70s. It was really different watching in person compared to TV. As kids we would try for hours to throw knuckle balls. Some other trivia - catchers wore a larger glove with Phil. Bruce Benedict said at times he didn’t know where the ball was going to hit his glove.
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