Phil Niekro, RIP

[catman]

Per MLB Network. Another great one gone too soon.

 

[JohnShadows]

Man, that sucks. Saw him pitch in-person multiple times at Fulton Co. RIP

 

[Boglodyte]

his knuckleball was as nasty as it gets

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

RIP

Hall of Fame knuckleballer Niekro dead at 81

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

www.mlb.com

Phil Niekro - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[broncosmitty]

Would’ve assumed a lot older than 81.


Hope he brings a new nail file to heaven for his brother. RIP sir.

 

[catman]

On a personal note, I met him at the 2011 Hall of Fame weekend. He was holding court at the Albany Airport and had everyone in stitches. A funny, funny guy.

 

[Pure Steel]

Would’ve assumed a lot older than 81.


Hope he brings a new nail file to heaven for his brother. RIP sir.

It seemed like he was 81 when he was pitching......RIP

 

[Carnzo]

RIP
I tried many times to throw the knuckleball and never got it to the plate.

 

[Cedrique]

RIP, dude was a workhorse. I think that generation of Niekro, Seaver, Carlton, Palmer, Jenkins, etc. was the last group of starters that would routinely go out and throw 15-20 complete games in a season. That would be unthinkable today

 

[catman]

RIP
I tried many times to throw the knuckleball and never got it to the plate.

I used to teach high school pitchers to throw it. I dug my fingernails into the seams and the ball did some really interesting things. It had a little bit of spin so it was a bit more predictable.

 

[Pure Steel]

RIP
I tried many times to throw the knuckleball and never got it to the plate.

You almost have to throw it and pull back on release to get the movement, I fooled around with it in summer baseball for shits n giggles and had success when thrown right......definitely need some longer fingernails.....