Philip Henry Niekro Jr. was born on April 1, 1939 in Blaine, Ohio, an unincorporated community near the Ohio-West Virginia border, and grew up in nearby Lansing, a town of just 634 people as of. Via the Hartford Courants Claire Smith, he said, The nicest feeling of the whole day was right after I came off the mound Joe told me they took my dad out of intensive care, Phil said. The Baltimore Orioles have hired Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro to teach three of the team's minor league pitchers how to throw the knuckleball a pitch that can make even the best hitters. Joe Niekro showing the proper fingertip grip. Ive done that before, said Niekro afterwards. "We may look back on this period in another five years," he says, "and say it was the start of something a bit of a knuckleball era. [50], This article is about the baseball pitch. That year, while catching just 76 games (59 for the Braves), he set a modern NL record with 27 passed balls, but his batterymate thrived. It does not need to be thrown hard (in fact, throwing too hard may diminish its effectiveness), and is therefore less taxing on the arm. Not only did he have incredible success as a pitcher, but since the knuckleball did not exact a toll on his pitching arm like other harder thrown pitches do he was able to be even more valuable, durable and versatile to his teams by pitching on short rest, pitching many complete games, serving as both a starter and a relief pitcher and pitching in the major leagues for an incredible 24 seasons. Fernandez fared a little better, getting into 31 Major League games with a 9.95 ERA. He placed third in the NL Cy Young balloting, the only non-Dodger to crack the top four in a year where reliever Mike Marshall won via his monster 208.1-inning season. Another drawback is that runners on base can usually advance more easily than if a conventional pitcher is on the mound. 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. After giving up a two-out double to pinch-hitter Tony Fernandez and then a loud foul ball against former teammate Jeff Burroughs, he broke out the knuckler and got the final two strikes for win number 300, becoming the 18th pitcher to reach that milestone and, at 46 years and 188 days, surpassing Satchel Paige as the oldest pitcher to throw a shutout (Jamie Moyer would later eclipse him on that front): I figured if theres anyway Im going to win my 300th game by striking the guy out, I was going to do it with the pitch that won the first game for me, he told reporters afterwards while admitting that he would have traded the milestone for a game that meant something in the pennant race.. He never caught for Dickey again. Niekro began his career with the Milwaukee Braves and ended it with the Atlanta Braves. The fingertip grip is more commonly used today by knuckleball pitchers, like retired Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, who had a knuckleball with a lot of movement. The pitch he perfected also appears to be lost. " So, Nathan says, there's "not a push to throw it and teach the pitch at an early age.". He was nearly six months past his 48th birthday when he returned to make one final start for Atlanta on September 27, 1987. Phil Niekro was one of thirty-seven men to take the field for the 1965 Milwaukee Braves, the last year they existed (1953-1965) before moving to Atlanta.When Knucksie hung up his cleats in 1987, he was the last active player from the former team.. Phil Niekro, on July 29, 1977, joined the 4 Strikeouts in 1 Inning "club" - the first (known / located) instance by a Braves pitcher. A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. With the reduction in stress on your arms, knuckleball pitchers can pitch longer in games. The dedicated catcher works in between games catching knuckleballs, which allows the full-time catcher to get more comfortable catching this pitch. And, yes, there have been guys who have gotten to the Major Leagues with funky grips, like Charlie Zink and Jared Fernandez. A free agent for the first time, Niekro was pursued by the Cardinals, Pirates, As and Yankees. The longtime stalwart of the Atlanta Braves rotation died after a lengthy fight with cancer, the team announced Sunday. Thanks to a league-best 5.3 runs per game of offensive support, he posted a gaudy 17-4 record and made his fourth All-Star team, but his ERA was an unremarkable 3.61 (104 ERA+), and he completed just four out of his 35 starts due to a quicker hook by Torre and Gibson, his pitching coach. The object is to put just a little spin on it and let it be nudged around as air flows over the ball's stitches and any little scrapes or abrasions on the leather. One of them just might end up making it to "the show." When you start off learning the knuckleball, it can be frustrating. A password reset link will be e-mailed to you. [13] And on April 8, 2010, she signed with the Chico Outlaws, debuting on May 29, 2010. I would have liked for my mother and my friends to have been there.. While Niekro may have chafed, he helped the Braves to another NL West title, and closed the season with back-to-back shutouts, a two-hitter against the Giants in Game 156, and then, on three days rest, a three-hitter against the Padres in Game 160. Your grip should avoid seams altogether. December 27, 2020, 9:39 AM. The Braves won 88 games but finished three behind the Dodgers. Niekro passed away in his sleep on Saturday night. Known for a pitch that befuddled hitters and catchers heck, Niekro didnt even know where it was going he was a five-time All-Star who had three 20-win seasons with Atlanta. Hes also 11th in the Baseball-Reference version of WAR, fifth in losses (274), fourth in innings (5,404), hits allowed (5,044), and home runs allowed (483), third in walks (1,809) and second in earned runs allowed (2,012) behind only Young. [2] If a knuckleball does not change direction in mid-flight, however, then it is easy to hit due to its lack of speed. Basically, Nathan says, the pitcher lets "chaotic dynamics" determine how the ball moves. It can keep guys in the majors who might otherwise have been out of baseball years earlier. The addition of the knuckleball to this arsenal was able to rejuvenate and prolonged his career in the big leagues. He is admitted to practice in New York, Connecticut and Illinois (House Counsel). Dennis received his B.A. He had three more years of close-but-no-cigar; Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt cut the line as the lone honorees in 1994 and 95, but then the fools in the BBWAA failed to elect anyone in 96, with Niekro receiving 68.3%, Tony Perez 65.7%, and fellow 300-game winner Don Sutton 63.8%, making for the writers first shutout since 1971. Finally, Mathews (now the manager) returned him to the rotation, where he allowed just three runs over 19 innings in his next two starts, both complete-game victories. So what we did, we would get into the sixth or seventh inning and wed see him not pitching so well and wed take him out. Tim Wakefield argues that "The problem is that [baseball] is so radar gun-oriented." He was 81. Phil Niekro owns one of, if not, the best knuckleball in MLB history. He logged more than 1,000 innings from 1977 through 1979, when he averaged 19 wins and 19 losses per season. He spent all of 1965 and most of 66 with the team, pitching reasonably well in the former year (2.89 ERA and six saves 74.2 innings), the teams final one in Milwaukee; on September 17, 1965, he made his first major league start, also against the Giants tossing five innings while allowing just one unearned run opposite Juan Marichal. Phil Niekro, Knuckleball. Like a knuckleball, it would be deadly against that type of approach by hitters, assuming a pitcher could master it. Over the 2018-19 seasons, only nine pitchers threw more innings in all of the major leagues (starters and relievers). The Yankees won 87 games but finished third in the AL East, a distant 17 games behind the hot-starting Tigers. Smith, the virtuoso shortstop, spoke by phone this month before the departure of yet another grand old man of the game. Not many pitchers start out with it, and you can't expect to pick it up overnight. The knuckleball grip used by Boston Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright. He was known for his knuckleball, and had a career record of 318-274. ATLANTA (AP) Phil Niekro threw a pitch that baffled hitters and catchers. As of 2021, four primary knuckleball pitchers are in the Baseball Hall of Fame today. My goal is to visit every MLB ballpark and I'm halfway there! In 2019, though, it surfaced for just 12 forgettable innings by Steven Wright and Ryan Feierabend. [33] It was tied by Follow him on Twitter @jay_jaffe and Mastodon @jay_jaffe. While the pitch has many advantages, there are also disadvantages of the pitch. Mr. Niekro's longevity in a game that can be unforgiving for players who lose their timing, great eyesight, speed and ability to throw as they age is simply remarkable. We are heartbroken on the passing of our treasured friend, the Braves said in a statement. The knuckleball is also employed by cricket fast bowlers Zaheer Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Andrew Tye as their slower delivery. Although he may have never looked or pitched like a prototypical major league pitcher, he consistently fooled hitters throughout his career enroute to 318 pitching wins with his very hard to hit knuckleball. Again, these guys got to the show, but they didnt stick. He ended up winning 318 games and is fourth on the career innings list.CreditGray Mortimore/Getty Images. He caught on with the Indians, and put up a league-average-ish season while helping 28-year-old Tom Candiotti establish himself as a formidable knuckleballer in his own right. He finished the season 7-13 with . That poor kid, limited to one pitch hes in the Hall of Fame now. All four of these pitchers had a baseball WHIP below 1.35, which shows how effective they were at reducing hits and limiting walks per inning. Two days after the no-hitter, the Braves claimed Joe off waivers from the Tigers; the two would spent the rest of the season and most of 1974 as teammates, even appearing in a handful of games together, though two of Joes four blown saves in 1973 came in games started by Phil. That is why he has hit so many catchers in the forehead. His 50.9 WAR over that span not only led the majors, it was 13.1 more than runner-up Rick Reuschel. As of 2021, four primary knuckleball pitchers are in the Baseball Hall of Fam e today. Last week, for example, Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright made his first major league start. Another way to throw the knuckler is to use your middle finger to guide the ball and use your thumb to stabilize the pitch. He scuffled to the point of being sent back to Triple-A for more than two months in mid-1966, a year in which he struck out just 17 while walking 23 in 50.1 innings. [3] In 1917, Druery taught the pitch to Eddie Rommel who became successful with it for the Philadelphia Athletics.[4]. No major league team has gone out of its way to teach the knuckleball. I remembered him and I thought, Oh, that poor kid, hes still in the minor leagues and I dont know how he hangs on, because Im on my way to the Hall of Fame, Bouton said, a few years before his death in 2019. Im a big baseball fan and every time I learn about the passing of a ballplayer that I watched and grew up to as a kid, part of my youth also passes away. Anything that you do that has a chance of putting even a tiny amount of spin on the ball must be eliminated, even if it feels comfortable. Great knuckle ball pitchers curl their fingers around to make hooks and then they dig their fingernails into the rawhide of the ball. He was 81. Dickey is the latest "journeyman" pitcher to have found stardom late in his career thanks to the knuckler. Hall of Famer. The Braves said Niekro died Saturday night in his sleep. By continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Niekro played basketball, baseball, and (briefly) football at Bridgeport High School. The team planned to release him once the Braves sent bigger-money signings to Wellsville. Many of us have teammates on our own teams who continually deliver high value to their clients every day but perhaps they arent noticed by their management because they dont crave attention, arent provided high visibility opportunities, arent interested in playing office politics, etc Mr. Niekros somewhat quiet yet long career is a great reminder for leaders at law firms and at in-house legal departments that the so-called lunch pail type of lawyers and business professionals in our workplaces who may be behind the scenes, who dont complain, who make others better and most importantly know how to get things done should not be forgotten. Niekro was inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1997. (modern). At any one time, only one or two are usually in the major leagues. All three are in the Hall of Fame. A five-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner, he never won a Cy Young award, but he started more games (716) than all but Young, Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, and Greg Maddux, taking more turns than any starter who never pitched in a World Series. title, collecting a win in the clincher on the second-to-last day of the season against the Reds. Phil Niekro showing his grip at the Baseball Hall of Fame As I discussed earlier, there are a few different ways to grip the knuckleball. I have had the privelage of working with the greatest knuckleballers alive today RA Dickey, Charlie Hough, Phil Niekro and Tom Candiotti. Finally, this site includes affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking one of my links. Dickey's 20-6 record and dramatic success last year with the New York Mets (he won the National League's Cy Young award, which goes to the best pitcher) and the news that the Orioles are making an effort to groom three knuckleballers gives Nathan hope that the pitch will catch on. For the 2012 documentary film, see, position players making pitching appearances, Game 5 of the 2004 American League Championship Series, "The Physics of Baseball: Knuckleball Research", "I am 2-time NL MVP Dale Murphy, former MLB player for the Braves, Phillies and Rockies. By ESPN.com news services. When the Braves won 88 games and finished third in the NL West in 1974 the best they would do between 1969 and 82 the 35-year-old Niekro led the way, pacing the NL in wins (20), innings (302.1), and complete games (18) while ranking second in WAR (7.9). The knuckleball grip has a few different variations to it, which makes the pitch unique. Sometimes you get a piece, but most of the time you get hungry.. But the knuckleball carried Niekro to more than 300 wins, earned him a . Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Willie Stargell compared its flight to "a butterfly with hiccups. All orgs will receive a full list. "They talk about having to 'have a feel' " for the pitch that requires using it all the time, Nathan says. [10] Another reason for the difficulty of the knuckleball is due to the network effect. Most knuckleballers end up throwing the pitch almost exclusively mixing in few, if any, fastballs, curves or sliders. ? Seams are raised. Niekro joined Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford and Joe Morgan in a grim lineup of greats we lost in 2020. Indeed, Bouton's famous best-selling book Ball Four (1970), while scandalous at the time for its unvarnished and often uncomplimentary portrayal of player behavior and coaching small-mindedness, is primarily a tale of the ups and downs of trying to hang on in the major leagues as a knuckleball pitcher.[29]. "It's seen as a 'trick pitch.' He lived in the Atlanta suburb of Flowery Branch, where a main thoroughfare bears his name. Steven Writer is a pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league roster. Keep a stiff wrist during the throwing motion. Finally, Niekro was elected with 80.3% in 1997. He was as much a part of these 300 wins as I was. His father lived for three more years. A week later, after his first unsuccessful bid for win number 300, the Yankees acquired brother Joe who himself had won his 200th game on June 2 from the Astros to help with their playoff push. 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. John Havlicek, the future N.B.A. Though unhappy about the decision, Niekro held his tongue while totaing just 19.1 innings over the first month of the season as the Braves stumbled to a 10-18 start. "He was a very good pitcher," Niekro told ESPN in. Because the pitch travels at 60 mph to maybe 80 mph, throwing that "softly" puts far less stress on an arm than throwing 90 mph or above. Unlike conventional pitches, which perform fast results without much exertion, a knuckleball pitcher must train his body and muscle memory to be able to execute a 65mph pitch with less than one rotation. Stay away from them at all costs.And stay tuned for the next part of this never-ending series about knuckleball grips Theres just so much to talk about. Your pointer and middle fingertips throw the knuckleball. Phil Niekro threw a pitch that baffled hitters and catchers. Nobody likes to warm up with you." Put yourself into a position to give yourself a chance and use two fingertips. Phil Niekro did not reach the majors for good until he was 27. Phil and Charlie and Wake, they all would share how important it is to perpetuate the craft, Dickey, who won the 2012 National League Cy Young Award while with the Mets, said by phone on Sunday. Pitchers throw knuckleballs when it becomes a compelling pitch for them to get batters out. Sent to the Braves other Class-D club in McCook, Nebraska, where he crossed paths with future wildman-turned-author Pat Jordan, Niekro improved, striking out 48 while posting a 3.12 ERA in 52 innings out of the bullpen. Because the speed of any prospect's pitch is one of the quickest and easiest metrics in judging the skill of the prospect, the knuckleball, which is thrown slower than any other pitch, gets overlooked. AMA! Richard Drew / AP file Link copied For example, Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas went with Dickey when the pitcher was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in late 2012, and the team later signed Henry Blanco, who also caught for Dickey. His younger brother, Joe, also had a long baseball career with an arsenal that included the knuckleball. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey of the Toronto Blue Jays won the 2012 Cy Young award for best pitcher in the National League after winning 20 games and losing just six for the New York Mets. While the trend of throwing baseballs harder and faster is common, there is a pitch that is slow and extremely difficult to hit, along with catching for catchers. The Stadium Reviews, LLC Regardless of how the ball is gripped, the purpose of the knuckleball is to have the least possible amount of rotational spin. The one current player throwing a knuckleball as their primary pitch in 2021 is Minor Leaguer, Steven Wright. With his death, three of the top 15 pitchers in JAWS have died this year, with Niekro one spot below Gibson (14th) and seven below Seaver (eighth). He was 48 years old then, his fifth year in a row as the games oldest player. But with his 72-year-old father critically ill in a West Virginia hospital, he steeled himself. It actually giggles at you as it goes by, outfielder Rick Monday told Sports Illustrated in 1983. According to Adair, the 150ms minimum human reaction time may be too slow to adjust to a knuckleball's changing direction.[2]. If a batter expects an Eephus pitch, they can sit back and swing hard to hit the ball, while a knuckleball pitch has random movement due to the aerodynamic force of the ball, which makes hitting it hard. Just because someone in our opinion may not look or speak the part of an outstanding lawyer or business leader doesnt mean they are incapable of being an outstanding lawyer or business leader. Its hard to catch it, its hard to coach it. Fans should not confuse a knuckleball pitch with an Eephus pitch or screwball pitch, however. 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. The Yankees won just one of those three starts, and on October 5, on the seasons second-to-last day, they were eliminated by Coxs Blue Jays. Niekro learned his knuckler as a 12-year-old from his coal miner father in Ohio. Joe Niekro showing the proper fingertip grip The first and most obvious thing to discuss is that the knuckleball is thrown with the fingertips and fingernails, not the knuckles as the name of the pitch would suggest. Yet the Braves would not commit to Niekro as a starter. In the NLCS against the Cardinals, Mother Nature and baseballs rulebook dealt the Braves a cruel blow. Parents Phil Niekro Sr. and Henrietta Ivy Klinkoski were both the children of Polish immigrants. Seams are you worst enemy. That was no small matter in a race that was decided on the final day of the season, when Morgans three-run homer for the Giants prevented the Dodgers from matching the Braves 89 wins. The knuckler baffled Niekro himself, as he told SIs Steve Wulf in 1984: Nobody has ever given me a good, definite explanation as to why the ball does what it does, he says. The first and most obvious thing to discuss is that the knuckleball is thrown with the fingertips and fingernails, not the knuckles as the name of the pitch would suggest. Historically, the term "knuckle curve" had a usage that was different from what it has in the game today. ; Zach Staniewicz, 27, in the rookie Gulf Coast League; and Eddie Gamboa, 28, of Class AAA Norfolk, Va.". The knuckleball is radically different from any other pitch in a pitcher's arsenal, being less predictable and difficult to control. The foundation of any great knuckleball is the grip, but there is a lot of confusion out there about proper knuckleball grips. In fact, some did not think that Mr. Niekro was even Hall of Fame worthy. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 83, Phil Niekro. Since the pitch is slow and the strain on the arm is not bad, some pitchers have made a career out of the tricky throw. In addition, the lack of backspin does shorten the length of the delivery, and also tends to make the ball skid off the pitchfaster than it would come off a normal delivery.[35]. There will be a period when they will beat the daylights out of you. From 1977-79, Niekro threw a jaw-dropping total of 1006.2 innings and completed 65 of 129 starts; his lowest total of innings in that span was 330.1. Some knuckleball pitchers like to hold the ball with their knuckles as they throw, while others use their fingertips. Heck, the pitch comes and goes when it feels like it and, get this, you never really master it. Defying age, of course, is part of the magic of the knuckleball. [23], Among position players making pitching appearances, those who have utilized the knuckleball include Wade Boggs,[24][25] Danny Worth,[26] Alex Blandino,[27] and Ernie Clement. Great knuckle ball pitchers curl their fingers around to make hooks and then they dig their fingernails into the rawhide of the ball. Furthermore, other factors, such as a dearth of knuckleball teachers and the dramatic increase in the running game base stealing is often easier against knuckleball pitchers may be contributing to its demise. He founded the Futility Infielder website (2001), was a columnist for Baseball Prospectus (2005-2012) and a contributing writer for Sports Illustrated (2012-2018). Sometimes, a pitcher in minor league baseball will work on the knuckleball pitch to get into the majors, while some players will pick them up later in their careers. He began his answer to our question with this observation: "There's a stigma attached to the knuckleball" by many in baseball. As he had before Cox was hired, he offered himself up as a player-manager candidate, but Braves owner Ted Turner rebuffed him, instead tabbing Torre. Quite frankly if you ever saw Mr. Niekro on the pitching mound he could have been mistaken for someone who was playing on a weekend softball team of over the hill players. The Yankees came closer in 1985, and while Niekro again won 16 games, his ERA increased by a full run. The easiest way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up, Uecker would often joke over the next half-century or so. Working regularly as a starter for the first time, he posted a 3.45 ERA in 172 innings, with 13 complete games out of 21 starts, no small feat given all that we now know about pitching at altitude. hide caption. The most important thing was to wear the (Braves) uniform again.. Just like that link at the top of the article from The Atlas, the average MLB fastball continues to increase year over year. That season kicked off an exceptionally productive stretch for Niekro even as the Braves competitive fortunes began to wane. Of his 716 starts, 595 came for the Braves. (A common phrase for hitting a knuckleball is "if it's low, let it go; if it's high, let it fly"; meaning that a batter should attempt to hit a knuckleball only if it crosses the plate high in the strike zone due to lack of break.) Former catcher Bob Uecker, who caught for Phil Niekro, said, "The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and pick it up. That would be eerie, he wrote. "Very few pitchers make a living throwing the knuckleball," says Sain, "simply because they can't make it work. [30], The record for passed balls in an inning (4) was first set by Ray Katt of the New York Giants in 1954, catching Hoyt Wilhelm. A successful knuckleball shot will move, dip, or wobble in the air unpredictably, making it difficult for the goalkeeper to save. [STEVE JACOBS/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS] [2] Other accounts attribute the pitch's creation to Charles H. Druery, a pitcher in the Blue Ridge League. ATLANTA -- Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro has died at the age of 81. He lost 20 games in both 1977 (against 16 wins) and 79; in the latter year, during which he picked up his 200th win on May 1 against the Pirates, he went 21-20 and became the only pitcher since 1901 to lead the league in both wins and losses. Try to keep the logo of the baseball facing the catcher the entire time. Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, who pitched well into his 40s with a knuckleball that baffled big league hitters for more than two decades, mostly with the Atlanta Braves, has died after a long fight with cancer, the team announced Sunday. The first year we got there, he was 17-4 but he was mad at us because we were taking him out. Of the thousands of pitchers who have reached the majors, fewer than a hundred mastered the knuckleball that maddeningly erratic, spin-free butterfly well enough to rely upon it as their primary pitch. What happens is that when Niekro arches the first two fingers of his right hand so that only their tips and nails touch the ball, he forsakes all humanly imparted spin and consigns his delivery to the diverse air currents between him and the plate. Supernatural, thats what he was for me that supernatural representation of what the pitch could become., Saying Goodbye to the Knuckleball, and Its Master, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/sports/baseball/phil-niekro.html. All four of these pitchers had a baseball WHIP below 1.35, which shows how effective they were at reducing hits and limiting walks per inning. Unlike other pitchers where the sequence has a pattern, like a traditional curveball, a knuckleball can dramatically drop at the last second or even stay nearly flat and land in the middle of the strike zone. Initially, older sister Phyllis served as her brothers backyard catcher, before his closest friend, future Boston Celtics star and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer John Havlicek, took over. After another postponement, Niekro returned for Game 2, but Torre pinch-hit for him in the top of the seventh inning with a 3-2 lead, and the Cardinals rallied late for a win en route to a three-game sweep. "I think the hardest thing for me is just the alone-ness that you feel sometimes because nobody else really does it," said Wakefield. ", "Will R. A. Dickey's Angry Knuckleball Change The Game? Starting in December and ending on Opening Day, Joe Posnanski will count down the 100 greatest baseball players by publishing an essay on a player every day . Brother Joe uses a slightly different grip on his knuckleball, and he can throw it faster than Phil. On Sunday we learned that Phil Niekro, the greatest knuckleball pitcher in baseball history, had died of cancer the day before at age 81. Supernatural, thats what he was for me that supernatural representation of what the pitch could become., Niekro became eligible for election to the Hall of Fame in 1993, but he fell short, receiving 65.7% of the vote while Reggie Jackson was the years only honoree. My name is Greg Kristan, and I'm the owner of The Stadium Reviews, LLC. Phil Niekro achieved baseball immortality when he was picked . What is Baltimore thinking? A little more pressure from any of the fingertips and the ball spins. It comes flying in there dipping and hopping like crazy and you just cant hit it.. He ended up winning 318 games and is fourth on the career innings list. But the knuckleball carried Niekro to more than 300 wins, earne Im not embarrassed by getting beat around. For example, pitchers will throw more wild pitches since the ball travels in a random pattern to the home plate. Atlanta Braves pitcher won 318 games over 24-year career, Niekro also played for Yankees, Indians and Blue Jays. Mr. Niekros longevity in a game that can be unforgiving for players who lose their timing, great eyesight, speed and ability to throw as they age is simply remarkable.
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