Phil Niekro
FameRank: 4

"Philip Henry" ""Phil"" "Niekro", nicknamed ""Knucksie"", is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. Niekro's 318 career victories are the most by a knuckleball pitcher and he ranks 16th on the overall all-time wins list. He also won the National League (NL) Gold Glove Award five times. Niekro pitched for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves. During his tenure in Atlanta, Niekro was selected for five All-Star teams, led the league in victories twice and earned run average once. Niekro was also a key to the only two division titles Atlanta won before .

Phil and his brother Joe Niekro amassed 539 wins between them, the most combined wins by brothers in baseball history. Phil Niekro's 121 career victories after the age of 40 is a major league record, and his longevity is attributed to the knuckleball, which is a difficult pitch to master but is easy on the arm and often baffles hitters due to its unpredictable trajectory. He is also the uncle of former first baseman and pitcher Lance Niekro.

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No doubt about it (before) — 500 home runs, 3,000 hits — one out of two is good enough. But right now? The jury is still out for me until I evaluate everything.

I'm learning as the years go by how many great athletes and coaches there are up here. I've been living on the lake here since 1987, and I keep asking myself why I didn't move here sooner.

If the writers want to put cheaters in the Hall of Fame, that's their prerogative.

Fifty games - sometimes I don't think that's enough.

It will be interesting to see if the guys who are caught walk up to a Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and say to them.

We're all very proud of that boy, not just because he's a good hitter, but because he's a real good kid.