Joe Niekro
| Joe Niekro | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) |
|||
| Pitcher | |||
|
Born: November 7, 1944 Martins Ferry, Ohio |
|||
|
Died: October 27, 2006 (aged 61) Tampa, Florida |
|||
|
|||
| MLB debut | |||
| April 16, 1967, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| April 29, 1988, for the Minnesota Twins | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 221–204 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.59 | ||
| Strikeouts | 1,747 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
|
|||
Joseph Franklin "Joe" Niekro (November 7, 1944 – October 27, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was the younger brother of pitcher Phil Niekro, and the father of Minor League Baseball pitcher and first baseman Lance Niekro. Born and grew up in Martins Ferry, Ohio, Niekro attended Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio and attended West Liberty University in West Liberty, West Virginia. During a 22-year baseball career, he pitched from 1967–1988 for seven different teams, primarily for the Houston Astros.
Niekro pitched for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers with occasional success before joining Phil with the Atlanta Braves in 1973. Joe used a fastball and a slider early in his career, with mixed results. He spent two seasons in Atlanta with Phil and got re-acquainted with the knuckleball that their father taught them. The knuckleball became an essential part of his arsenal though never his sole pitch. Joe threw harder than Phil and could set up batters nearly as effectively with his fastball in combination with his excellent changeup.
The Houston Astros purchased Niekro's contract from the Braves for $35,000 in 1975. He blossomed into a dominant pitcher as he perfected his knuckleball in Houston, going 21–11 in 1979 and 20–12 in 1980, to become the first Astros pitcher to win 20 games in consecutive seasons. He also made the National League All-Star team in 1979, a season in which he led the league with his 21 wins and five shutouts, won the TSN Pitcher of the Year Award, and ended second in voting for the Cy Young Award behind Bruce Sutter. 1979 also saw the Niekro brothers tie for the wins leader in Major League Baseball, marking this the only year that two brothers shared this honor.
...
Wikipedia