Joe Niekro - Statistics and Records

Statistics and Records

• His 221 career wins make him one of the most successful knuckleball pitchers of all time. The Niekro brothers combined for 539 total wins, making them the most successful brother combination of pitchers in major league history.
• On May 29, 1976, Niekro hit the only big league home run of his career (973 lifetime at bats), and it came against his brother Phil.
• In the 1987 World Series with Minnesota, Niekro set a record for the longest period of time between a major league debut and a first appearance in the Series.
• On July 2, 1970, while with the Tigers, Niekro had a no-hitter broken up with one out in the ninth by a Horace Clarke single; this would be the only hit Niekro allowed in defeating the New York Yankees, 5–0. With Phil pitching a no-hitter in 1973, the Niekros would have been the first brothers to pitch Major League no-hitters. (The Forsch brothers would eventually become the first, and the only ones as of 2012, to have that distinction, Bob pitching two, in 1978 and 1983, and Ken in 1979.)