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Originally Posted by packs
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Originally Posted by nat
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Originally Posted by D. Bergin
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Originally Posted by packs
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Originally Posted by packs
Phil won a lot of games but he also led the league in losses four years in a row and retired with an ERA+ of 115.
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I will say Niekro does have some whacky seasons under his belt that seem very hard to explain on the surface.
In 1978, he went 19-18, lost more games than anyone else, gave up more hits and earned runs than anyone else, and hit more people than anyone in the league.
But he also somehow led the league in WAR.
The next season it was even weirder. He led the league in both wins and losses after going 21-20, he gave up more hits, home runs, and walks than any other pitcher in the league, but again led everyone in WAR. |
Availability is valuable.
He also usually led the league in innings pitched...by a lot.
...and the difference between him and the #10 guy was a huge gulf. Usually around a 100 innings. Sometimes even more. That's like 11 Extra complete games a season.
I also believe Atlanta was considered a hitter's paradise during those days, so that would have helped his overall value also. |
Also remember that those Braves teams were really bad. That he led the league in wins while pitching for the 1979 Braves is pretty impressive. |
Wow yeah looks like Phil accounted for almost a third of all the games the Braves won in 1979.
He had such an interesting career by the numbers. So many innings, so many wins, so much WAR and then the other end with the walks and home runs and seeming so hittable sometimes.
The knuckle is cool. He gave up 482 total home runs which is fourth all time. I was very surprised to see only Jamie Moyer and Robin Roberts have given up over 500 home runs. Roberts was a surprising name I didn't realize he got hamered so much. Even in his prime while he was winning 23 games he gave up 41 homers. |
In defence of Phil Niekro he had to end up giving up a lot of everything because he pitched so many innings over so many years. But it's interesting to look at specifically those two years where he recorded his highest totals for innings pitched.
In 1978 at the age of 39 his record was 19-18 on an Atlanta Braves team that was 69-93. Niekro pitched 334 1/3 innings in 44 appearances which included 42 starts with 22 complete games in those starts. He posted an ERA of only 2.88 while pitching an average of almost 7 2/3 innings per appearance!
In 1979 at the age of 40 his record was 21-20 on an Atlanta Braves team that was 66-94. Niekro pitched 342 innings in 44 starts with 23 complete games in those starts. He posted an ERA of 3.39 while pitching an average of over 7 2/3 innings per appearance!
Niekro was great in 1978 and 1979. The Braves didn't have much more going for them than Phil Niekro in those two years.
