Former Stros pitcher Joe Niekro died yesterday at the age of 61 in Tampa, Florida, reportedly of a brain aneurysm. Niekro pitching in 22 Major league seasons from 1967 through 1988 with seven teams, including the Stros, the Cubs, the Padres, the Tigers, the Braves, the Yankees and the Twins. Neil Hohlfeld’s Chronicle article on Niekro’s death is here, the NY Times obituary is here and don’t miss former teammate Larry Dierker’s heartfelt reflections on Niekro here.
Niekro and his Hall of Fame brother Phil were two of the best knuckleball pitchers of that era and still hold the Major League record for total wins by brothers with 539 (Joe accounted for 221 of those, 144 with the Stros). Although both Niekros relied on the knuckleball as their out pitch, Joe actually threw a variety of pitches in addition to the knuckler while Phil threw the knuckleball exclusively.
For his career, Niekro ended up being a below-average National League pitcher — he had a -42 career runs saved against average (RSAA, explained here). However, the Stros were fortunate to have Niekro playing for the club during 11 of his best seasons. Niekro pitched for the Stros from 1975-85, and he was a workhorse on the Stros pitching staffs (along with Nolan Ryan and J.R. Richard) of the first Stros teams that were serious playoff contenders in the 1979-81 seasons.

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