Joe Niekro, baseball player, 1967-1988

Joe Niekro

Born: 11/7/1944 in Martins Ferry, OH, USA

Died: 10/27/2006 in Tampa, FL, USA

MLB Debut: 1967-04-16 | Final Game: 1988-04-29

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 185 lbs

Full name: Joseph Franklin Niekro

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Biography

Joe Niekro was a prominent Major League Baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1967 to 1988. Born in 1944, Niekro established himself as a reliable starter and an adept pitcher known for his exceptional control and the use of a knuckleball, a pitch that defined his playing style. Over his two-decade career, he achieved a record of 221 wins and 204 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.59. Niekro struck out a total of 1,747 batters and recorded 16 saves, showcasing his versatility on the mound. Niekro was selected as an All-Star once, highlighting his impact during a competitive era of baseball marked by the rise of powerful hitters and evolving pitching strategies. He played for several teams, including the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, and most notably, the Houston Astros, where he became a fan favorite. His contributions to the game extended beyond his statistics, as he was known for his sportsmanship and mentorship of younger pitchers. Joe Niekro's legacy is remembered not only through his achievements on the field but also through his influence on the art of pitching, particularly with the knuckleball, in an era that challenged pitchers like never before.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
221 204 702 500 107 29 16 3584.0 3466 1431 276 1262 1747 3.59 0

Career ERA 3.59 vs. league average 3.73 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1967 CHC NL 10 7 36 22 7 2 0 169.7 171 63 32 77 3.34 3.30 (-1%) -
1968 CHC NL 14 10 34 29 2 1 2 177.0 204 85 59 65 4.32 2.98 (-45%) -
1969 CHC NL 0 1 4 3 0 0 0 19.3 24 8 6 7 3.72 3.61 (-3%) -
1969 SDP NL 8 17 37 31 8 3 0 202.0 213 83 45 55 3.70 3.61 (-2%) -
1970 DET AL 12 13 38 34 6 2 0 213.0 221 96 72 101 4.06 3.89 (-4%) -3165.1
1971 DET AL 6 7 31 15 0 0 1 122.3 136 61 49 43 4.49 3.47 (-29%) -2858.1
1972 DET AL 3 2 18 7 1 0 1 47.0 62 20 8 24 3.83 3.26 (-17%) 571.8
1973 ATL NL 2 4 20 0 0 0 3 24.0 23 11 11 12 4.12 3.75 (-10%) -167.6
1974 ATL NL 3 2 27 2 0 0 0 43.0 36 17 18 31 3.56 3.63 (+2%) -451.2
1975 HOU NL 6 4 40 4 1 1 4 88.0 79 30 39 54 3.07 3.71 (+17%) 1142.2
1976 HOU NL 4 8 36 13 0 0 0 118.0 107 44 56 77 3.36 3.51 (+5%) -434.6
1977 HOU NL 13 8 44 14 9 2 5 180.7 155 61 64 101 3.04 4.00 (+24%) 1367.1
1978 HOU NL 14 14 35 29 10 1 0 202.7 190 87 73 97 3.86 3.69 (-5%) 61.6
1979 HOU NL 21 11 38 38 11 5 0 263.7 221 88 107 119 3.00 4.00 (+25%) 258.8
1980 HOU NL 20 12 37 36 11 2 0 256.0 268 101 79 127 3.55 3.84 (+8%) 3365.9
1981 HOU NL 9 9 24 24 5 2 0 166.0 150 52 47 77 2.82 3.58 (+21%) 1867.2
1982 HOU NL 17 12 35 35 16 5 0 270.0 224 74 64 130 2.47 3.86 (+36%) 5449.7
1983 HOU NL 15 14 38 38 9 1 0 263.7 238 102 101 152 3.48 3.87 (+10%) 2414.3
1984 HOU NL 16 12 38 38 6 1 0 248.3 223 84 89 127 3.04 3.81 (+20%) 682.1
1985 HOU NL 9 12 32 32 4 1 0 213.0 197 88 99 117 3.72 3.89 (+5%) -2438.7
1985 NYY AL 2 1 3 3 0 0 0 12.3 14 8 8 4 5.84 3.89 (-50%) -
1986 NYY AL 9 10 25 25 0 0 0 125.7 139 68 63 59 4.87 3.97 (-23%) -
1987 NYY AL 3 4 8 8 1 0 0 50.7 40 20 19 30 3.55 4.29 (+17%) -
1987 MIN AL 4 9 19 18 0 0 0 96.3 115 67 45 54 6.26 4.29 (-46%) -1299.5
1988 MIN AL 1 1 5 2 0 0 0 11.7 16 13 9 7 10.03 3.73 (-169%) -695.3

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
706 973 55 152 26 1 1 72 1 38 262 0.156 0.188 0.188 0.376 -6842.5

Career AVG .156 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 39.0% below league average.

Career OBP .188 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 41.7% below league average.

Career SLG .188 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — 50.5% below league average.

Career OPS 0.376 vs. league average 0.702 across their career seasons — 46.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1967 CHC NL 36 46 5 9 2 0 0 11 1 1 13 0.196 — — — — 0.0
1968 CHC NL 34 60 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 4 23 0.100 .236 (-58%) .298 (-48%) .340 (-71%) .638 (-60%) -535.3
1969 CHC NL 4 5 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0.200 — — — — 0.0
1969 SDP NL 38 51 1 6 1 0 0 2 0 6 17 0.118 .248 (-53%) .320 (-35%) .369 (-63%) .689 (-50%) 0.0
1970 DET AL 39 66 8 13 3 1 0 7 0 7 17 0.197 .253 (-22%) .325 (-16%) .385 (-29%) .711 (-23%) -258.3
1971 DET AL 32 30 5 4 1 0 0 2 0 2 9 0.133 — — — — 0.0
1972 DET AL 18 12 2 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 4 0.250 — — — — 0.0
1973 ATL NL 20 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.333 — — — — 0.0
1974 ATL NL 27 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1975 HOU NL 40 14 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0.214 — — — — 0.0
1976 HOU NL 36 27 1 5 2 0 1 1 0 1 8 0.185 — — — — 0.0
1977 HOU NL 44 50 2 7 0 0 0 2 0 2 13 0.140 .264 (-47%) .329 (-47%) .401 (-65%) .730 (-57%) -490.3
1978 HOU NL 36 65 6 9 2 0 0 5 0 0 18 0.138 .257 (-46%) .323 (-57%) .378 (-55%) .702 (-56%) -609.1
1979 HOU NL 38 83 1 10 2 0 0 4 0 2 21 0.120 .265 (-55%) .329 (-58%) .397 (-64%) .727 (-61%) -881.8
1980 HOU NL 37 80 7 22 5 0 0 10 0 4 15 0.275 .264 (+4%) .326 (-5%) .387 (-13%) .714 (-9%) -126.7
1981 HOU NL 24 51 1 9 1 0 0 6 0 2 10 0.176 .255 (-31%) .320 (-35%) .368 (-47%) .688 (-41%) -335.1
1982 HOU NL 35 89 2 8 2 0 0 5 0 1 30 0.090 .261 (-66%) .324 (-69%) .388 (-71%) .712 (-70%) -1063.7
1983 HOU NL 38 85 1 8 2 0 0 2 0 0 22 0.094 .260 (-64%) .324 (-68%) .389 (-70%) .714 (-69%) -987.0
1984 HOU NL 38 83 4 11 0 0 0 6 0 2 21 0.133 .259 (-49%) .322 (-53%) .384 (-66%) .707 (-60%) -820.0
1985 HOU NL 32 68 6 17 1 0 0 6 0 1 16 0.250 .257 (-3%) .323 (-20%) .390 (-32%) .714 (-27%) -312.9
1985 NYY AL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — -312.9
1986 NYY AL 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 NYY AL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 MIN AL 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 MIN AL 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
4 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1987 WS MIN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 NWDIV HOU 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1980 NLCS HOU 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
1972 ALCS DET 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 3 2 0 20.0 14 0 5 7 0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1987 WS MIN 0 0 1 0 0 2.0 1 0 1 1 0.00
1981 NWDIV HOU 0 0 1 1 0 8.0 7 0 3 4 0.00
1980 NLCS HOU 0 0 1 1 0 10.0 6 0 1 2 0.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 702 500 253 532 25 41

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1967 CHN P 36 22 10 26 0 1
1968 CHN P 34 29 9 33 0 2
1969 CHN P 4 3 2 5 0 1
1969 SDN P 37 31 19 29 5 1
1970 DET P 38 34 17 35 1 1
1971 DET P 31 15 9 25 1 1
1972 DET P 18 7 5 4 0 1
1973 ATL P 20 0 2 5 0 2
1974 ATL P 27 2 4 8 0 1
1975 HOU P 40 4 7 13 0 0
1976 HOU P 36 13 9 13 3 1
1977 HOU P 44 14 11 31 0 7
1978 HOU P 35 29 18 21 0 3
1979 HOU P 38 38 14 39 0 4
1980 HOU P 37 36 17 37 2 2
1981 HOU P 24 24 11 23 0 1
1982 HOU P 35 35 22 42 3 2
1983 HOU P 38 38 9 36 4 0
1984 HOU P 38 38 19 39 2 5
1985 HOU P 32 32 14 34 1 1
1985 NYA P 3 3 3 2 0 0
1986 NYA P 25 25 9 13 1 2
1987 NYA P 8 8 5 5 1 0
1987 MIN P 19 18 6 11 1 1
1988 MIN P 5 2 2 3 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 702

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1979 Pitcher of the Month May
1979 TSN All-Star RHP
1979 TSN Pitcher of the Year

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1988 MIN AL $800,000
1986 NYA AL $750,000
1985 HOU NL $825,000
Total Career Earnings $2,375,000

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
West Liberty State College West Liberty WV 1963, 1964, 1965

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1980 Cy Young Award NL 4th 11.0 120 0
1980 Most Valuable Player NL 19th 3.0 336 0
1979 Cy Young Award NL 2nd 66.0 120 9
1979 Most Valuable Player NL 6th 75.0 336 1