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. He was 81.
Niekro pitched for 24 seasons, with the first 20 of them as a Brave before moving on to the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cleveland Indians. He won 318 games, 16th-most all-time, and pitched until he was 48 years old. He was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1997.
He won his 300th game while pitching for the New York Yankees on Oct. 6, 1985, throwing a shutout against the Toronto Blue Jays.
“We are heartbroken on the passing of our treasured friend, Phil Niekro,” the Braves said in a statement. “Knucksie was woven into the Braves fabric, first in Milwaukee and then in Atlanta. Phil baffled batters on the field and later was always the first to join in our community activities.
Niekro pitched for 24 seasons, with the first 20 of them as a Brave before moving on to the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cleveland Indians. He won 318 games, 16th-most all-time, and pitched until he was 48 years old. He was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1997.
He won his 300th game while pitching for the New York Yankees on Oct. 6, 1985, throwing a shutout against the Toronto Blue Jays.
“We are heartbroken on the passing of our treasured friend, Phil Niekro,” the Braves said in a statement. “Knucksie was woven into the Braves fabric, first in Milwaukee and then in Atlanta. Phil baffled batters on the field and later was always the first to join in our community activities.
- 12/27/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
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