sports RIP, Phil Niekro (aka, Knucksie)

[Dark Qiviut 22,603]

Quote

ATLANTA -- Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro has died at the age of 81.

Niekro passed away in his sleep on Saturday night. The suburban Atlanta resident had a longtime battle with cancer.

Niekro was inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1997. The iconic knuckleballer collected 318 wins over a 24-year career that included stints with the Braves (1964-83 and '87), Yankees ('84-85), Tribe ('86-87) and Blue Jays ('87). He was a five-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove Award winner who finished within the top six in National League Cy Young Award balloting five times from '69-82.

“Phil Niekro was one of the most distinctive and memorable pitchers of his generation," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said. "In the last century, no pitcher threw more than Phil’s 5,404 innings. His knuckleball led him to five All-Star selections, three 20-win seasons for the Atlanta Braves, the 300-win club, and ultimately, to Cooperstown.

“But even more than his signature pitch and trademark durability, Phil will be remembered as one of our game’s most genial people. He always represented his sport extraordinarily well, and he will be deeply missed. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my condolences to Phil’s family, friends and the many fans he earned throughout his life in our National Pastime.”

https://www.mlb.com/news/phil-niekro-dies-at-81

Affectionately nicknamed "Knucksie," Niekro's the best knuckleball pitcher of all-time, and his résumé backs it up.

• His 318 wins is the most by a knuckleballer. Over the course of his 24-year career, he compiled a 162-game average of 14-12 (averaging 233 innings) with a career 3.35 ERA.
• He pitched in 864 games and started 716 of them (all but one after turning 28 years old), his first in 1965 when the Braves were still in Milwaukee.
• His 716 starts is fifth-most all-time. The only ones ahead (from #4-1) are all Hall of Famers: Greg Maddux, Don Sutton, Nolan Ryan, and Cy Young.
• He logged in 5404 innings, fourth-most all time and the most in the live-ball era (1920-present). Only Walter Johnson, Pud Galvin, and Cy (#3-1) have more.
• At the time of retirement, his 3342 strikeouts were seventh-most all-time. Since then, four pitchers (Bert Blyleven, Clemens, Randy Johnson, & Maddux) passed him.
• Pitched his only no-hitter in 1973.
• For a starting pitcher or position player, 60 Baseball-Reference WAR (aka, bWAR) makes you a considerable candidate for the Hall of Fame. He finished his career with 95.9 bWAR; his 97.0 pitching bWAR is 11th-most all time.
• During his peak from 1974-79, he achieved the following:
  • Averaged 7.9 WAR per season, including an even 10.0 in 1978.
  • Went 108-97 and averaged a 3.21 ERA (good for 125 ERA+).
  • Led the NL in wins twice.
  • Led the NL or majors in complete games four times (1974, '77-'79).
  • Pitched 300 or more innings four times ('74, '77-'79). From 1977-'79, he pitched 330.1, 334.1, and 342 (!) innings, respectively; he's the last pitcher to throw 300+ innings in consecutive seasons. (No pitcher has thrown 300+ regular-season innings since Steve Carlton in 1980.)
  • Led the majors in starts four times (1977-'80), including a three-year stretch ('77-'79) of 43, 42, & 44 games started, respectively. Since then, only one other pitcher (knuckleballer Charlie Hough in 1987) started at least 40 games.
• After he turned 40 on April 1, 1979:
  • Won 121 games after the age of 40, a record.
  • Pitched 1977 innings.
  • Started 294 games.
  • Struck out 1148 batters.
  • Threw 62 complete games, including a MLB-high 23 in 1979.
  • Was an All-Star in 1982 and 1984 (the latter at age 45); he had five altogether.
  • Won four of his five Gold Gloves after turning 40.
• Holds the record for being the oldest pitcher to throw a complete game (June 25, 1987 at 48 years old). At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest to pitch a shutout (at 46 years & 188 days old to get career win #300; more on that below), which would be eclipsed in 2010 by Jamie Moyer.
• Although he was known for his knuckleball, in Niekro's last start for both the Yankees and the 1985 season altogether, he relied mostly on fastballs and changeups to a woozy Toronto Blue Jays' B-squad (the team won their first AL East title the day before while playing their best players, so they were all [hung over ] on the bench). He didn't throw one until the final pitch of the game, notching his 300th win:
  
  (It was also his 45th and final shutout of his career.)
• The last player born in the 1930s, before the start of WWII, and the third-to-last in the Silent Generation (behind Greg Nettles and Tommy John) to play in the Major Leagues.
• The Braves retired his #35 in 1984 (while he was still playing) and was elected to the Hall of Fame on his fifth ballot in 1997.

You can read more of his great facts here: https://www.mlb.com/news/phil-niekro-career-statistical-breakdown

Phil wasn't the only Niekro knuckleballer. His younger brother, Joe, won 221 games and a championship in 1987 with the Twins. At 539 career wins, the Niekro brothers have the most combined wins by any pair in baseball history.

This man's one of the greatest players of all-time, and he'll be missed. RIP, Knucksie.