Knuckleballer Phil Niekro passed away

[timjake]

I don't see a cause of death in the article, only fact of. 81 years old.

Until reading this, I didn't know he's the guy who perfected the knuckleball pitch...

Phil Niekro, Hall of Fame knuckleball pitcher, dead at 81 | Fox News

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"Niekro was a five-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner. He played 24 years in the major leagues from 1964 to 1987. He spent 21 years with the Atlanta Braves and also played for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays."

Along with being in the Baseball Hall of Fame, he was also a Board member for over a decade.

 

[misswired]

Watched the Niekro brothers in Atlanta as a kid. Brothers on the same team, and both pitchers too

 

[Jack Flash]

...
Until reading this, I didn't know he's the guy who perfected the knuckleball pitch...

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I would have thought it was Hoyt Wilhelm, but I'm sure there were other knuckleballers before him.

I remember seeing Phil Niekro a lot growing up. I see he pitched in the majors until he was 48 (!) and won 318 games. Sorry to hear he has passed.

 

[Rustyt1953]

The Braves retired his number in '84. He was a true class act.

 

[Justin T]

His brother spent 11 years with the astros and also used the knuck.

Interesting that they died 14 years apart.

 

[The Analyst]

He was a real competitor and true ambassador for the sport he loved. I saw him pitch many times and he could really dazzle the hitter with that knuckleball. He won over 300 games and is a member of the hall of fame. I believe he passed from cancer. He will be deeply missed.

 

[redlevel]

Knucksie is my all-time favorite Brave. He won 121 games after he was 40 years old. Rick Monday once said his knuckleball "actually giggles at you when it floats by." Bob Uecker said the best way to catch his knuckleball was to "wait till it stops rolling and pick it up." A few batters wouldn't take pre-game BP before facing Niekro. At least one opposing manager said all his hitters' swings were fouled up for a week after facing him.

Four HOF pitchers died in 2020. Knucksie with 318 wins, Tom Seaver with 311 wins, Bob Gibson with 251 wins, and Whitey Ford with 236 wins. Other HOFers passing in 2020 were Lou Brock, Joe Morgan, and Al Kaline.

 

[redlevel]

Watched the Niekro brothers in Atlanta as a kid. Brothers on the same team, and both pitchers too

Phil and Joe had 539 wins between them.
Best brother combination in MLB history.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Bobby Murcer said that trying to hit Phil's knuckleball was like eating Jello with chopsticks.

 

[sheepdawg]

Four HOF pitchers died in 2020. Knucksie with 318 wins, Tom Seaver with 311 wins, Bob Gibson with 251 wins, and Whitey Ford with 236 wins. Other HOFers passing in 2020 were Curt Flood, Joe Morgan, and Al Kaline.

Curt Flood died in 1997. Lou Brock must be who you meant.

Not a HOFr but the greatest pitched game in baseball history belongs to Don Larsen who also passed away in 2020. Not a good year for baseball's greats.

 

[redlevel]

Curt Flood died in 1997. Lou Brock must be who you meant.
.

Yep. Thanks. Major brain cramp.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Phil was one of those guys who would throw at your head if you made him mad, but with the knuckleball, you couldn't tell if he did it on purpose or not . . .

 

[PPS1980]

A real gentleman, RIP. Remember that he won all those games back in the days when the Braves were the worst team in baseball many seasons. He often won games with zero help from the rest of the team, I remember going to a game in the rain when he was pitching and the official count was 1445 paying fans that day. Funny, but when the Braves started winning suddenly Atlanta had a lot of "baseball fans"......

 

[muddocktor]

According to the Wikipedia page on Phil Niekro, he died in his sleep, but had been diagnosed with cancer of some sort, referenced from the MLB page right here.

 

[CQB27]

I once read some major league hitters refered to his knuckleball as looking like a butterfly with hiccups.

 

[Toyman]

I remember watching an all star game when Phil Niekro was pitching and Jonny Bench was catching. Niekro threw 10 pitches, 9 were strikes and Jonny Bench never tried to catch he ball, he just knocked it down and picked up the ball and threw it back.
When he was with the Yankees Steinbrenner had his players followed to see what kind of mischief they were getting in to . The guy following Niekro reported he followed Niekro and watched him dancing the polka.

 

[Cdog]

I remember the Phil and other members of the Braves coming to our small town to promote their move to Atlanta in the mid 60's.

He was a decent hitter too. Loved to watch him play.

 

[CQB27]

A real gentleman, RIP. Remember that he won all those games back in the days when the Braves were the worst team in baseball many seasons. He often won games with zero help from the rest of the team, I remember going to a game in the rain when he was pitching and the official count was 1445 paying fans that day. Funny, but when the Braves started winning suddenly Atlanta had a lot of "baseball fans"......

When I was in college I went to a Braves Game, on a cold September night. It was in the mid 80's, the Bob Horner years, when the old Fulton County Stadium was almost empty every game. A high school friend called me the next day and said "hey, I saw you on TV (TBS) last night at the braves game". I laughed and said "well, there was only about 300 of us fans there". The good old days when you could buy a $12 general admission ticket and sit anywhere you wanted except the box seats, lol.

 

[fiasconva]

Class guy all around. He was a big bass fisherman and would fish with the clubhouse equipment manager on days off. When he left the Braves he gifted him a brand new bass boat.