- Aug 6, 2012
- 27,891
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Love all the knuckleballers simply because they are different and they make professional look silly at times. Yes, it's a gimmick pitch, but he was the best at it for a very long time.
RIP.
www.sportsnet.ca
ATLANTA — 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. He was 81.
The Braves said Niekro died Saturday night in his sleep. He lived in the Atlanta suburb of Flowery Branch, where a main thoroughfare bears his name.
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.
Known for a pitch that befuddled hitters and catchers — heck, Niekro didn’t even know where it was going — he was a five-time All-Star who had three 20-win seasons with Atlanta.
RIP.
Phil Niekro, Braves legend and Hall of Famer, dies at 81
Phil Niekro, the Atlanta Braves legend and Hall of Fame pitcher who earned the nickname "Knucksie" for his commanding use of the knuckleball, has died. He was 81.
ATLANTA — 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. He was 81.
The Braves said Niekro died Saturday night in his sleep. He lived in the Atlanta suburb of Flowery Branch, where a main thoroughfare bears his name.
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.
Known for a pitch that befuddled hitters and catchers — heck, Niekro didn’t even know where it was going — he was a five-time All-Star who had three 20-win seasons with Atlanta.
