A Hall of Fame pitcher and by all accounts (even mine, as I got to spend time with him once) a Hall of Fame individual, Niekro is the most successful knuckleball pitcher of all time. Ironically, on the day of his 300th win, Niekro spent almost the entire day not throwing his signature pitch. According to legend, Niekro did not throw a knuckleball until the final batter of the game. He spent 24 seasons in the majors and made the post-season just twice, and both of those times his teams were swept in the opening round. A teammate of both Henry Aaron and Tom Glavine, Niekro had a career blessed with both longevity and individual success. Better teams would have led to more success but perhaps a better team would not have given a knuckleball pitcher a chance to succeed. After parts of three seasons in the bullpen, Niekro moved into the starting rotation as a 28-year old in 1967, a position he maintained until 1987.
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