Atlanta Braves Opening Day countdown: 71, aging Phil Niekro

As we count down to Atlanta Braves Opening Day, we take a look at one of the faces of the Braves franchise and his production late in his life.

As the 2019 season nears, the Atlanta Braves look forward to Opening Day to defend their National League East crown. Today, we mark 71 days until Opening Day by looking at Phil Niekro‘s incredible career.

Early Niekro

Phil Niekro was originally signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1959, and he spent multiple years in the minors before finally cracking the majors in 1964 at age 25. He worked primarily as a reliever until 1967, when he spent his first year as a swingman, and he was incredible, winning the ERA title with a 1.87 ERA over 207 innings split between 26 relief appearances and 20 starts. He also saved 9 games, which was a career high.

Niekro’s 20s with Atlanta were relatively rough as he got a late start. Overall, he pitched 5 seasons in his 20s in the Braves organization, with 31 wins, posting a 2.56 ERA over 603 2/3 innings.

Niekro’s middle years

His entire 30’s were spent with the Atlanta Braves, though during that time, the Braves were rarely good. As a knuckleballer, Niekro pitched more often and was able to tally up a ton of innings, topping 300 innings three times in his 30’s.

Niekro made All-Star games in his 30’s, including his first one at age 30 in 1969. Due to often pitching deep into his games, Niekro had a decision in 310 of his 402 games. He AVERAGED 40 games and 37 starts over the decade, averaging 282 innings and a 3.18 ERA.

Like a fine wine

For the first time in his career, Niekro left the Atlanta Braves in his 40’s, but he waited until he was 45. He did return to the Braves to finish his career in 1987 at age 48.

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Incredibly, Niekro won 71 games (hence his inclusion for #71!) in his 40’s as a member of the Atlanta Braves. Incredibly, in his age 40 season, 1979, Niekro led the National League in wins while also leading the major leagues in losses, starts, complete games, and innings pitched. He had a 21-20 record, the only time since World War I that a pitcher had recorded both 20 wins and 20 losses in the same season.

He spent three seasons during his 40’s with other organizations, but Knucksie’s Braves-only statistics would rank him in the top 7 of all pitchers in MLB history during his 40’s in wins, starts, and innings, though he’s significantly the leader in major league history if you add in his time elsewhere.

The Atlanta Braves have been blessed to have incredible players in their history, but few have been as successful for as long as Phil Niekro was.