Quote:
Originally Posted by Balticfox
Phil Niekro pitched 5404.0 innings over 24 years to the age of 48 though and retired with a lifetime ERA of 3.35.
Hoyt Wilhelm pitched 2254.1 innings over 21 years to the age of 49 and retired with a lifetime ERA of 2,52.
What makes the comparison tough is that Wilhelm didn't break into the major leagues until the age of 29 while Niekro started at the age of 25. Moreover Niekro started in 716 games while Wilhelm started in only 52 games.
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Hard to play the what if game but the one time the leash was off Hoyt and he was allowed to start and pitch as much as he wanted, he threw 226 innings and led the league in both ERA and ERA+.
He was also 36 years old at the time.