Phil Niekro 1964-1983, 1987 (88.5 WAR) . Phil Niekro, the only knuckleball pitcher to win 300 Major League Baseball games, died in his sleep Saturday night after a long battle with cancer, the Atlanta Braves announced. 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. With the Braves Niekro earned 268 of his career 318 . 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. 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. (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. Chris Haft. On August 26, the first time Victor Martinez caught Wakefield, he used a first baseman's glove, instead of a regular catcher's mitt. See all categories. As of 2004[update], only about 70 Major League Baseball pitchers have regularly used the knuckleball during their careers, and its use has become rarer over time. A successful knuckleball shot will move, dip, or wobble in the air unpredictably, making it difficult for the goalkeeper to save. Now you have to apply even pressure using three fingers. Communication. Day trip or a week-long adventure. 1978 Topps Nolan Ryan Phil Niekro Strikeout Leaders #206 NM HOF Nice Card! Phil Niekro dug his fingernails into the baseballs seams and carved out a legend eventually earning a plaque in Cooperstown. In 2013, J. P. Arencibia set a Toronto Blue Jays franchise record by allowing four passed balls in the season opener (a 42 loss) while catching for knuckleballer R. A. Dickey. Bases loaded, nobody out, a lead slipping away. 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. I don't think of his Hall of Fame plaque. His success eventually forced the team to take a chance on a knuckleballer as a starting pitcher. [20] On September 27, he made his final start of his career, pitching three innings and surrendering five runs in the no-decision. Through Sunday he was 7-2, with an American League-leading ERA of 1.20. Niekro, often referred to by his knuckleball . It was a career summed up by his dedication to a pitch that can be as confounding as it is unhittable. Rookie Status: He looks much older. Philip Henry Niekro was born on April 1, 1939, in Blaine, Ohio. La maledetta che sfida la fisica", "Noughty Boys: No one hit a free-kick quite like Juninho Pernambucano", "Pele to Zico to Beckham to Ronaldo: Evolution of the Free-Kick Masters", "Mestre de Pirlo, Juninho Pernambucano ensinou italiano a bater falta", "The Top 15 Best Shooters in World Football", "Bonansea: I was always daydreaming of football in class", The (Mostly) Complete List of Knuckleball Pitchers, NPR.org on the Red Sox's re-acquisition of Doug Mirabelli, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Knuckleball&oldid=1137620558, This page was last edited on 5 February 2023, at 16:41. This was common due to the amount of practice one must put into the pitch. "There aren't many hitters who like facing knuckleball pitchers," Niekro said. . December 27, 2020 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. It feels comfortable to me. Well, three fingers gives you a much better chance of spinning the ball, and heres why: To eliminate the spin you need to apply even pressure from two fingertips. Many current pitchers throw a curveball using a grip with the index finger touching the ball with the knuckle or fingertip (also called a spike curve). And if you can throw a ball without any spin at 65-plus miles-per-hour, than you've got a great knuckleball grip.But there are overwhelming similarities between the grips of the great knuckleball pitchers; guys like Phil Niekro, Charlie Hough, Tom . Niekro, who pitched well into his 40s with a knuckleball that baffled big league hitters for more than two decades . Do you have a blog? Niekro passed away on Dec. 26, 2020, at the age of 81. "[25] Uecker also said humorously of the pitch, "The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and pick it up. Heck, he didn't even know where it was going most of the time. Before the 1968 season, sportswriter Fred Down described the Braves' pitching staff as "chaotic" and reported that team leadership was planning to use Niekro as both a starter and a reliever in the coming season. 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. December 27, 2020, 9:39 AM. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the staff of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, I would like to send our heartfelt condolences to Nancy Niekro and the Niekro family., Born April 1, 1939 in Blaine, Ohio, Philip Henry Niekro was taught the knuckler by his father. [10], In 1970, he went 1218 with a 4.27 ERA in what turned out to be a down year. 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, Dec. 27, 2020. 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. Seek out and celebrate your heroes, and explore online and in-person exhibits commemorating the history and impact of the game. [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. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. [2] Because they cannot discuss pitching with non knuckleball-using teammates, they often share tips and insights even if on competing teams, and believe that they have a responsibility to help younger players develop the pitch. 300, entered the bottom of the ninth having shut out the Jays on curveballs, slip pitches, fastballs and screwballs -- everything but a knuckleball. Phil Niekro was 6-1 (185 cm) tall. [9] He appeared in 37 games, finishing with a 1412 record and 15 complete games. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Amazingly, he won 121 games over the age of 40 thanks to his knuckleball. (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library), Phil Niekro (left) greets members of Team Knucksie, including Alan Trammell (center), before the 2015 Hall of Fame Classic Game in Cooperstown. inFlowery Branch,GA, Buried: 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. He was a key contributor to the Braves winning their only two division titles before 1991. However, young pitchers with smaller hands tend to throw the knuckleball with their knuckles. 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]. However, Cicotte called the shine ball "a pure freak of the imagination", claiming that he did this to disconcert hitters and that the pitch was still a knuckleball. vs. SFG 3.0 IP, 6 H, 0 SO, 6 BB, 5 ER. When Mr. Niekro was 40 years old in 1979 he threw 23 complete games - nowadays it is rare to see a pitcher even throw 1 or 2 complete 9 inning games during a typical season. Over the distance from the pitcher's mound to home plate, the effect of these forces is that the knuckleball can flutter, dance, jiggle, or curve in two different directions during its flight. [13] And on April 8, 2010, she signed with the Chico Outlaws, debuting on May 29, 2010. Niekro joined Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson . He took the mound for nearly a quarter of a century using the arm-saving pitch. [1] A pitcher who throws knuckleballs is known as a knuckleballer. The Niekro brothers would face each other nine times in their career, with Joe's team winning five. Vic DeLucia/The New York Times. Most of his career was spent with mostly with the Atlanta Braves. It is almost never used in a mixed repertoire today, however, and some believe that to throw the knuckleball effectively with some semblance of control over the pitch, one must throw it more or less exclusively. Or write about sports? He found both in 1967, when he was united with Bob Uecker, a veteran reserve backstop with many quips and sage advice. "[10], In 1991, Hall of Fame catcher Rick Ferrell was quoted as saying, "I think the knuckleball is fading out." Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 12:52AM. Regardless of how the ball is gripped, the purpose of the knuckleball is to have the least possible amount of rotational spin. Updated pitcher list, and average pitch speed for Dickey/Wakefield. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. By all accounts, Niekro, like Murphy and legendary former Braves manager Bobby Cox Niekro's manager from 1978-81 and the general manager when the Braves brought Niekro back in 1987 are . If staying in the majors could be owed to the knuckler, the same factor might also explain Niekro's initial difficulty in reaching the big leagues. We present them here for purely educational purposes. In 24 seasons with the Braves, Yankees, Indians and Blue Jays, Niekro was 318-274 with a 3.35 ERA. The Yankees had fallen short of the postseason the day before with a loss in Toronto. "[26], After the end of his professional baseball career, Niekro managed the all-women Colorado Silver Bullets baseball team. The Braves lost the game against the San Francisco Giants 156. His 23 victories that season earned him second place in the National League Cy Young Award vote. None of them succeeded to the extent . Uecker acknowledged he did a lot of chasing. But because the pitch is so difficult to throw, even on a good day, you want to reduce as many variables as possible. He surrendered a league-leading 40 home runs that year, a feat he would not repeat until 1979. Phil Niekro weighed 180 lbs (81 kg) when playing. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. [1] Niekro's playoff loss came against Seaver. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. He reinvented pitching by adding this slow, crazy moving pitch. It was during those community and fan activities where he would communicate with fans as if they were long lost friends. During the 1945 season, with talent depleted by call-ups to fight in World War II, the Washington Senators had a pitching rotation which included four knuckleball pitchers (Dutch Leonard, Johnny Niggeling, Mickey "Itsy Bitsy" Haefner, and Roger Wolff) who combined for 60 complete games and 60 wins, carrying the Senators to second place. Knuckleball paved Phil Niekro's path to Hall. By ESPN.com news services. Niekro, who pitched well into his 40s . AMA! How many seasons did Phil Niekro play? Niekro was remembered by the Hall as "master of the knuckleball and a great mentor, leader and friend." Niekro didn't make it to the big leagues until 1964, when he pitched 10 games in . Phil Niekro achieved . "[1] Bouton said, "Catchers hate it. 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. A reporter once noted that Phil is 48 but you'd never know it. And take a look at your grip. 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. [1], From 1971 to 1973, he combined for a record of 4436. In 1979, Phil, pitching for the Braves, and Joe, for the Astros, tied for the most victories in the National League, with 21 each. On August 5, 1973, Niekro threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres, the first for the Braves since moving to Atlanta. A paper presented at the 2012 Conference of the International Sports Engineering Association argues, based on PITCHf/x data, that knuckleballs do not make large and abrupt changes in their trajectories on the way to home plateor at least, no more abrupt than a normal pitch. When you start off learning the knuckleball, it can be frustrating. This is one of the most common misconceptions about the knuckleball. "Very few pitchers make a living throwing the knuckleball," says Sain, "simply because they can't make it work. [36] This technique has also been described as the "dry leaf" or "dead leaf" ("folha seca" in Portuguese),[37] the "tomahawk",[38] or even "the accursed" ("maledetta" in Italian). The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. Phil Niekro played for 5 teams; the Milwaukee Braves, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays. Data Provided By In addition, Phil played American Legion Baseball. 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. in Blaine, OH A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. But after 318 career victories over 24 big league seasons, Niekro was rewarded with the ultimate honor in Cooperstown. Phil Niekro Sr., a laborer and part-time semi-pro pitcher, had mastered the knuckler after an arm injury threatened to end his playing days. Twenty years after he broke into the majors, 45-year-old starter Phil Niekro deals a knuckleball against the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium, Aug. 8, 1984. Phil Niekro's big league career was never about speed. [18] After going 02 in three starts, the Blue Jays released Niekro. They hold the record for most combined wins by siblings in a career with 539. "In the last century, no pitcher threw more than Phil's 5,404 innings. Phil Niekro threw a pitch that baffled hitters and catchers. Niekro has died after a long fight with cancer, the team announced today. He was the only player elected that year; Tony Prez and Don Sutton were among the notable eligible players who were not elected that year. Avoid the seams. 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. In this March 29, 2007, file photo, Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro holds a knuckleball at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland. Seams are raised. But the knuckleball carried Niekro to more than 300 wins, earned him a . There will be a period when they will beat the daylights out of you. The Niekro brothers would face each other nine times in their career, with Joes team winning five. [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. As a mentor, leader and friend, Phil brought out the best in all of us in Cooperstown. When was Phil Niekro born? Created by the act of throwing a ball, the ball's trajectory is significantly affected by variations in airflow caused by differences between the smooth surface of the ball and the stitching of its seams. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Nobody likes to warm up with you." But the knuckleball carried Niekro to more than 300 wins, earned him a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame and gave him a nickname that stuck for the rest of his life. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. [1], In 1982, at the age of 43, Niekro led the Braves with a 174 season while winning his fourth Gold Glove Award and appearing in his fourth All-Star game. 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 . But Niekro, who pitched for the Braves, Yankees, Indians and Blue Jays for 24 seasons, was more . Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. Niekro, born in Blaine, Ohio, on April 1, 1939, was the proud scion of a family dynasty of sorts. Even a ball thrown without rotation will "flutter", due to the "apparent wind" it feels as its trajectory changes throughout its flight path.[5]. 300, entered the bottom of the ninth having shut out the Jays on curveballs, slip pitches, fastballs and screwballs -- everything but a knuckleball. One 2007 study offered evidence for this conclusion. [1] He was released by the Yankees before the 1986 season started. He was 81. This couldnt be farther from the truth. On Sunday we learned that Phil Niekro, the greatest knuckleball pitcher in baseball history, had died of cancer the day before at age 81. Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro holds a knuckleball at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland in 2017. Philip Henry Niekro (/nikro/ NEE-kroh; April 1, 1939 December 26, 2020), nicknamed "Knucksie",[1] was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball, 20 of them with the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves. Because there are so few knuckleball pitchers, the resources for learning and improving the knuckleball are few compared to more common pitches. Memorial Park South Cemetery, Flowery Branch, GA, High School: Bridgeport HS (Bridgeport, OH), Debut: [1] In 1966, Niekro split time again between the Braves and their minor league system, going 43 with a 4.11 earned run average (ERA). Hoyt Wilhelm, Phil Niekro, and Jesse Haines, three pitchers who primarily relied on the knuckleball, have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Niekro and his younger brother Joe amassed 539 wins between them, the most combined wins by brothers in baseball history. Dedicated daily to memorializing notable personalities. The resulting motion of the pitch more closely resembles a curveball, which explains the combination name. 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. Phil, Trying to hit him, said Yankees All-Star outfielder Bobby Murcer, is like trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks.. The fingers that stabilize the ball shouldnt be on any seams. Exceeded rookie limits during 1965 season, View Player Bio In this March 29, 2007, file photo, Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro holds a knuckleball which he used to pitch well into his 40s. All rights reserved. [] Seams have texture. It's also available for football, basketball and hockey. Some knuckleballers have continued to pitch professionally well into their forties: Tim Wakefield, Hoyt Wilhelm, R. A. Dickey, Charlie Hough, Tom Candiotti, and the brothers Phil Niekro and Joe Niekro. "He simply destroys your timing with that knuckleball," said Hall of Famer Ernie Banks. 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. Instead, you will feel like it "shoots" out as the ball leaves your fingertips. We'll miss you, Knucksie. His pitching coach? Ferrell knew knuckleballs: he had the task of being the Washington Senators catcher in 194445, when the Senators had four knuckleball pitchers in their starting rotation. He finally went to the knuckler for the game's final batter, striking out former teammate Jeff Burroughs on three pitches to cap the 8-0 victory and become the 18 th 300-game winner in history. If you have any question, please contact me at knuckleballnation@gmail.com, Monday Friday: 10am 9pmSaturday: 10am 4pm, Copyright OceanWP Knuckleball Nation. Phil Niekro, who rode his knuckleball to 318 wins and a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame, has died at 81 of cancer. (Josh Szot/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum), Phil Niekro managed the Colorado Silver Bullets baseball team from 1994-97. Show your love of the game and play a part in preserving past and ensuring the future of the Baseball Hall of Fame. You just have a relationship with it.
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