Most of you may remember Lance Niekro from his failed attempts to seize the elusive first base job from the likes of JT Snow and Pedro Feliz. Well, he’s now in AAA ball at Fresno, but has been working on some new tricks. With the help of his uncle, he’s been working on his knuckleball, hoping to make it as a pitcher (pretty much just the opposite of Rick Ankiel’s resurgence).
This weekend, Niekro finally got his chance … and it didn’t go ideally. He topped out at 75mph, pitched two-thirds of an inning, allowed three hits, surrendered two runs and even plunked a batter for good measure.
And he kinda throws like a girl first baseman.
Niekro gets shot to pitch [Fresno Bee]
August 21, 2007 at 3:57 pm
actually, it’s next to impossible to throw a knuckleball without looking like a girl. That said, being a knuckleball pitcher has to be the best job in baseball.
August 21, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Yeah, he throws a lot like Uncle Phil (his Uncle Phil, not the Fresh Prince’s Uncle Phil).
August 21, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Throwing a knuckleball is a learned skill, not like throwing hard. It is not out of the question that he could master it. Being a Niekro, he will get evey chance to make good.
The Sultan on Sports
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August 21, 2007 at 7:58 pm
[...] Clip Of The Day: Lance Niekro Is Not Quite “There” Yet [YouTube] Most of you may remember Lance Niekro from his failed attempts to seize the elusive first base job from the […] [...]
August 21, 2007 at 11:46 pm
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August 22, 2007 at 6:03 am
is it true you cant make love before game? that is terrible. I my self love the sensation of falling falling,
greetings
August 22, 2007 at 10:48 am
you can have sex before a game, it’s just not the best idea if you are a professional athlete. if you are playing in a rec league then go for it, thats awesome.
how awesome would that be if Lance made it back up to the bigs as a first baseman and was periodically called in to relief pitch?
http://www.drunkenpanda.com
August 22, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Poor Lance. I wondered where he went.
He always talked about his knuckleball as if it was going to be his secret way to extend his career when he couldn’t hit anymore. I guess that time has come a lot sooner than expected.