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
I loved watching him pitch.... and the batters frustrations!
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.
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.
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.
“Heck, he didn’t even know where it was going most of the time.”
Not sure on that. He threw a lot of strikes with it but the real advantage to it was that you didn’t have to hit corners with it. It would come in at a slower speed and about the time it got right in front of the plate, it would take off with the seam it was on. I have seen those creature break two feet in a direction in a three foot space coming back. Trying to hit one was like trying to swat a fly with a switch.
Both Niekro brothers threw one, but Phil was the most successful.
wy69
Condolences to family and friends of Phil Niekro. I could toss a decent knuckleball in HS and college...but nothing like Niekro. Thanks Phil. love
My husband has one of his signed baseballs.