They all sit behind home plate." Bob Uecker During 24 big league seasons, Phil Niekro rode his knuckleball to 5,404 innings pitched - the most of any pitcher who started his career in the live ball era. "Knucksie was woven into the Braves fabric, first in Milwaukee and then in Atlanta. The brothers were the sons of a coal miner[5] who had pitched semi-pro baseball and learned to throw a knuckleball from another coal miner. When Phil Niekro won his 300th game, Joe was at his side, and it was arguably the most unique victory of the elder brother's career. Between 1964 and 1987, Phil racked up 318 wins (the most by a knuckleball pitcher), struck out over 3,000 and had a ERA of 3.35. Niekro's 318 career victories are the most by a knuckleballer and rank 16th on MLB's all-time wins list. I got to meet a lot of important people. Ralph Kiner compared Niekro's special pitch to "watching Mario Andretti park a car". The four pitchers in the hall of fame include Phil Niekro, Ted Lyons, Jesse Haines, and Hoyt Wilhelm. [18] After going 02 in three starts, the Blue Jays released Niekro. He spent six long years in the minor leagues, and once he got to the majors his fluttering knuckleball never lit up the radar gun. Pinstripes look just fine on Phil Niekro. See all categories. I don't think of his Hall of Fame plaque. . (Parker Fish/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum), Brothers Joe (left) and Phil Niekro squared off against one another on July 4, 1967 in a game won by Phil's Atlanta Braves against the Chicago Cubs, 8-3. He taught the boys the pitch in the backyard. Phil Niekro's playing days ended in 1987, but he would don a uniform one more time, as manager of the women's barnstorming Colorado Silver Bullets (1994-97). Phil, trying for a fifth time to win No. Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro holds a knuckleball at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland in 2017. Phil Niekro, the Hall of Fame knuckleballer who won 318 games in a 24-year career, died in his sleep Saturday night after a battle with cancer, the Atlanta Braves announced Sunday. Two later pitchers, Jesse Haines and Freddie Fitzsimmons, were sometimes characterized as knuckleball pitchers even by their contemporaries, but in their cases it again refers to a harder-thrown, curving pitch that would probably not be called a knuckleball today. "Phil Niekro was one of the most distinctive and memorable pitchers of his generation," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. Phil Niekro who hurled most of his famous knuckle balls with the Braves, died on Saturday . In the finale, manager Billy Martin handed pitching coach duties to Joe Niekro and the ball to Phil Niekro. It hit me in the shinguard, bounced out to Clete Boyer at third base and he threw out the runner at first. Second stint with the Atlanta Braves (1987), New York Yankees Opening Day starting pitchers, List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders, List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders, List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders, List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders, List of Major League Baseball career hit batsmen leaders, List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders, List of Major League Baseball single-inning strikeout leaders, "20-Game Loser: Profiles of the 20-Loss Seasons", "Phil Niekro has never forgotten the Ohio Valley", "Phil Niekro Goes Home to Visit His Ailing Father", "Phil League Minor League Statistics and History", "Harris planning dual role for Phil Niekro", "Phil Niekro's illustrious career by the numbers", "Phil Niekro Signs 2-Year Yankee Pact (Published 1984)", "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", "Niekro Gets 300th Win a Shutout of Blue Jays", "YANKEES TRADED BAYLOR AND RELEASE PHIL NIEKRO", "Hall of Famer knuckleballer Phil Niekro dies at 81 | Sports | morningjournal.com", "SPORTS PEOPLE; Phil Niekro to Braves (Published 1987)", "Phil Niekro, who rode his knuckleball to the Hall of Fame, dies at 81", "No Spin Zone: Knuckleball master Phil Niekro to speak at Field of Dreams Banquet", "FresnoBee.com: Fresno Grizzlies: Niekro gets shot to pitch", "A Roster of MLB All-Stars Helped Raise Awareness for Prostate Cancer", "Legendary Braves pitcher Phil Niekro dies at age of 81", "Hall of Fame knuckleballer Niekro dead at 81", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phil_Niekro&oldid=1138834006, Major League Baseball players with retired numbers, Louisville Colonels (minor league) players, American expatriate baseball players in Canada, Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state), Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, September 27,1987,for theAtlanta Braves, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 11 February 2023, at 22:10. Phil Niekro weighed 180 lbs (81 kg) when playing. R. A. Dickey argues that, "for most managers, it takes a special manager to be able to really trust it the bad and the good of it. This use of a "specialist" catcher continued into the 2008 season following the signing of Kevin Cash, and 2009 saw George Kottaras fulfill this role. Phil Niekro pitched a no . [30], On December 26, 2020, Niekro died in his sleep at age 81. There will be a period when they will beat the daylights out of you. This couldnt be farther from the truth. Nancy and I are deeply saddened by the news today of the passing of Phil Niekro. But the knuckleball carried Niekro to more than 300 . Sometimes young players will throw the knuckleball with their knuckles flat against the ball, giving it less spin but also making it difficult to throw any significant distance. Trying to hit that thing is a miserable way to make a living. Cicotte was widely reported to throw both the knuckleball and a variant on the spitball known as a "shine ball" (because he would "shine" one side of a dirty ball by rubbing it on his uniform). His longevity was greatly aided by his reliance on the knuckleball, which puts far less stress on a pitcher's throwing arm than a standard repertoire of pitches. Phil Niekro was a legendary Hall of Fame pitcher known for his knuckleball pitch, who played for the Braves most of his career. "Trying to hit Phil Niekro is like trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks," said former New York Yankees All-Star outfielder Bobby Murcer. Niekro was a five-time All-Star and pitched a no-hitter in . Toad Ramsey, a pitcher from 1885 to 1890, is credited in some later sources with being the first knuckleballer, apparently based primarily on accounts of how he gripped the ball; however, based on more contemporary descriptions of his pitch as an "immense drop ball", it may be that his pitch was a form of knuckle curve. Niekro joined Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson . During his twenty-one seasons with the Atlanta Braves, "Knucksie," as he was known, became one of the most popular players in franchise history. As I discussed earlier, there are a few different ways to grip the knuckleball. Brothers Joe (left) and Phil Niekro squared off against one another on July 4, 1967 in a game won by Phil's Atlanta Braves against the Chicago Cubs, 8-3. Phil Niekro owns one of, if not, the best knuckleball in MLB history. Read More FILE - In this March 29, 2007, file photo, Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro holds a knuckleball at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland. He would say later that he wanted to prove he was a pitcher, not just a knuckleballer. Jean Faut (19252023), AAGPBL pitcher with two perfect Bob Richards (19262023), first athlete featured on Wheaties Greg Foster (19582023), world champion hurdler, Tom Sizemore (19612023), actor in Saving Private Ryan, Heat, Jerry Richardson (19362023), Carolina Panthers founder, Wayne Shorter (19332023), jazz saxophonist who co-founded Weather Report, Jean Faut (19252023), AAGPBL pitcher with two perfect games, Bob Richards (19262023), first athlete featured on Wheaties boxes, Greta Andersen (19272023), Olympic swimming champion. [10] Another reason for the difficulty of the knuckleball is due to the network effect. Phil Niekro, a pitcher who used his signature knuckleball to fool generations of hitters and craft a Hall of Fame career, died Saturday night in his sleep, the Braves announced Sunday. [8], Niekro led the league with a 1.87 ERA in 1967, earning an 119 record with 10 complete games and 9 saves. Phil Niekro Phil is probably the best known knuckleball pitcher. [3][4] He was of Polish descent. (Doug McWilliams/National baseball Hall of Fame and Museum). For his humanitarian service, Niekro was honored with the Lou Gehrig Award, Roberto Clemente Award and Brian Piccolo Award. [14] Niekro struck Burroughs out to end the game. [39], One of the main proponents of this shooting technique was Brazilian playmaker Juninho Pernambucano, who popularised it in particular during his time with Lyon in the mid 2000s;[40] however, it is commonly thought to have been invented by compatriot Didi,[37][41][42] although Italian forward Giuseppe Meazza before him is also credited with using the technique. Thats a long phrase, but it is an important one to learn, A solid knuckleball grip with no fatal flaws. This change adds a deflecting force to the baseball, making it difficult for batters to hit but also difficult for pitchers to control and catchers to catch . I was not going to get myself so high. Knuckleball pitcher Phil Niekro reacts to the news that he has been voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame during a press conference on Monday, Jan. 6, 1997 at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta. [28], Niekro was a member of the board of directors for Kiz Toys, a toy company based out of Cumming, Georgia, and Niekro advised the company on the KizSport baseball line, reviewing product designs and development. Another drawback is that runners on base can usually advance more easily than if a conventional pitcher is on the mound. (Age 48-179d) In association football (soccer), the method of striking the ball so that it produces almost no spinning motion during its flight has been colloquially described as "knuckleballing" by commentators, due to the ball's motion that resembles a baseball thrown with a knuckleball pitch. Niekro threw a no-hitter against the Padres on Aug. 5, 1973, and won his 300th career game on the final day of the 1985 season by throwing just one knuckler on the last pitch of the game. Not many pitchers start out with it, and you can't expect to pick it up overnight. Do you have a blog? Check out some of his b. AMA! Phil and Joe Niekro learned the pitch from their father, a Polish coal miner, and won a combined total of 539 games the most by two brothers in big league history. Over more than a decade of serving as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Hall of Fame, his wisdom, his compassion, and his love for the game proved to be invaluable in helping us shape our decisions. In 1969, his first All-Star season, he had a 2313 season with a 2.56 ERA,[1] finishing second in the National League Cy Young award balloting to Tom Seaver. So thankful for our memories and time together. This is due to both the knuckleball's low average speed and its erratic movement, which force the catcher to keep focusing on the ball even after the runners start stealing their next bases. [10], In 1970, he went 1218 with a 4.27 ERA in what turned out to be a down year. [13] And on April 8, 2010, she signed with the Chico Outlaws, debuting on May 29, 2010. ASSOCIATED . Do you have a sports website? Instead, you will feel like it "shoots" out as the ball leaves your fingertips. Niekro taught his nephew Lance Niekro to throw a knuckleball after Lance's unsuccessful stints as a power-hitting first base prospect with the San Francisco Giants. Who throws the best knuckleball? Position the Ball December 27, 2020 His younger brother Joe was also a Major League pitcher, who won more than 200 games. Seams have texture. Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro, who rode his knuckleball to 318 victories, was the seventh Hall of Famer to pass away in 2020. . Phil Niekro 1964-1983, 1987 (88.5 WAR) . Support provided by Market New York through I LOVE NY/ New York States Division of Tourism as a part of the Regional Economic Development Council awards. 1978 Topps #206 Strikeout Leaders Phil Niekro Nolan Ryan - Nice Card. Communication. [21] Mickey Jannis of the Baltimore Orioles organization also throws the knuckleball, and made his major league debut on June 23, 2021. But that was nothing new. These include the flutterball, the floater, the dancer, the butterfly ball (the name for the pitch used by French language game commentators employed by the Montreal Expos), the ghostball, and the bug. Youve made you development 50% more difficult. Niekro's first two Topps baseball cards are both combination cards with other Braves prospects and his 1965 Topps card is shared with pitcher Clay Carroll. "In the last century, no pitcher threw more than Phil's 5,404 innings. The lower physical strain also fosters longer careers. The team was eliminated from the playoffs after losing the next two games. Ed Summers, an Indianapolis teammate of Cicotte who adopted the pitch and helped develop it, modified it by holding the ball with his fingertips and using the thumb for balance.