What years did Joe Niekro play?

Joe Niekro played in Major League Baseball from 1967 to 1988.

Was Joe Niekro a pitcher?

Yes. Joe Niekro pitched in the major leagues, recording 221 wins and 1747 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Joe Niekro hit?

Joe Niekro hit 1 career home run with 152 hits.

What teams did Joe Niekro play for?

Joe Niekro played for 7 teams: the Chicago Cubs (1967–1969), the San Diego Padres (1969), the Detroit Tigers (1970–1972), the Atlanta Braves (1973–1974), the Houston Astros (1975–1985), the New York Yankees (1985–1987), and the Minnesota Twins (1987–1988).

Did Joe Niekro win a Cy Young Award?

No. Joe Niekro did not win the Cy Young Award.

What awards did Joe Niekro win?

Joe Niekro was selected to 1 All-Star Game.

What were Joe Niekro's career stats?

In 702 games, Joe Niekro went 221-204 with a 3.59 ERA, 1,747 strikeouts, 3,584.0 innings pitched, and 16 saves. At the plate he had 152 hits and 1 home runs.

What was Joe Niekro's salary?

Joe Niekro's last recorded salary was $800,000, in 1988. His highest recorded salary was $825,000, in 1985, and his lowest was $750,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1988.

What position did Joe Niekro play?

Joe Niekro played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Joe Niekro and how much did he weigh?

Joe Niekro was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 185 pounds.

What was Joe Niekro's career ERA?

Joe Niekro finished with a 3.59 career ERA, going 221-204 with 1,747 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Joe Niekro have?

Joe Niekro recorded 1,747 career strikeouts.

Is Joe Niekro in the Hall of Fame?

No. Joe Niekro has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Joe Niekro

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1967-1988)

Joe Niekro was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1967 to 1988 for 7 teams, including the Chicago Cubs, a span of 22 seasons. Across 702 career appearances, he went 221-204 with a 3.59 ERA and 1,747 strikeouts. He also batted .156 with 1 home runs. Joe Niekro was an All-Star.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 15, 2026

W–L 221–204

ERA 3.59

WHIP 1.32

SO 1,747

Pitcher PIV -3057.5

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'1" / 185 lb
Born: 11/7/1944 in Martins Ferry, OH, USA
Died: 10/27/2006 in Tampa, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1967-04-16
Last Game: 1988-04-29
Awards: All-Star

Full name: Joseph Franklin Niekro

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Career Pitching Statistics

Joe Niekro — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
221	204	702	500	107	29	16	3584.0	3,466	1,431	276	1,262	1,747	3.59	-3057.5

Career ERA 3.59 vs. league average 3.73 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Niekro Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1967	CHN	NL	10	7	36	22	7	2	0	169.2	171	63	32	77	3.34	3.30 (-1%)	-332.6
1968	CHN	NL	14	10	34	29	2	1	2	177.0	204	85	59	65	4.32	2.98 (-45%)	-4608.6
1969	CHN	NL	0	1	4	3	0	0	0	19.1	24	8	6	7	3.72	3.61 (-3%)	-541.3
1969	SDN	NL	8	17	37	31	8	3	0	202.0	213	83	45	55	3.70	3.61 (-2%)	79.6
1970	DET	AL	12	13	38	34	6	2	0	213.0	221	96	72	101	4.06	3.89 (-4%)	-3032.2
1971	DET	AL	6	7	31	15	0	0	1	122.1	136	61	49	43	4.49	3.47 (-29%)	-2787.9
1972	DET	AL	3	2	18	7	1	0	1	47.0	62	20	8	24	3.83	3.26 (-17%)	571.8
1973	ATL	NL	2	4	20	0	0	0	3	24.0	23	11	11	12	4.12	3.75 (-10%)	-166.8
1974	ATL	NL	3	2	27	2	0	0	0	43.0	36	17	18	31	3.56	3.63 (+2%)	-447.2
1975	HOU	NL	6	4	40	4	1	1	4	88.0	79	30	39	54	3.07	3.71 (+17%)	1142.2
1976	HOU	NL	4	8	36	13	0	0	0	118.0	107	44	56	77	3.36	3.51 (+5%)	-424.3
1977	HOU	NL	13	8	44	14	9	2	5	180.2	155	61	64	101	3.04	4.00 (+24%)	1367.1
1978	HOU	NL	14	14	35	29	10	1	0	202.2	190	87	73	97	3.86	3.69 (-5%)	61.6
1979	HOU	NL	21	11	38	38	11	5	0	263.2	221	88	107	119	3.00	4.00 (+25%)	258.8
1980	HOU	NL	20	12	37	36	11	2	0	256.0	268	101	79	127	3.55	3.84 (+8%)	3365.9
1981	HOU	NL	9	9	24	24	5	2	0	166.0	150	52	47	77	2.82	3.58 (+21%)	1867.2
1982	HOU	NL	17	12	35	35	16	5	0	270.0	224	74	64	130	2.47	3.86 (+36%)	5449.7
1983	HOU	NL	15	14	38	38	9	1	0	263.2	238	102	101	152	3.48	3.87 (+10%)	2414.3
1984	HOU	NL	16	12	38	38	6	1	0	248.1	223	84	89	127	3.04	3.81 (+20%)	682.1
1985	HOU	NL	9	12	32	32	4	1	0	213.0	197	88	99	117	3.72	3.89 (+5%)	-2336.3
1985	NYA	AL	2	1	3	3	0	0	0	12.1	14	8	8	4	5.84	3.89 (-50%)	-1002.2
1986	NYA	AL	9	10	25	25	0	0	0	125.2	139	68	63	59	4.87	3.97 (-23%)	-2950.3
1987	NYA	AL	3	4	8	8	1	0	0	50.2	40	20	19	30	3.55	4.29 (+17%)	279.7
1987	MIN	AL	4	9	19	18	0	0	0	96.1	115	67	45	54	6.26	4.29 (-46%)	-1274.2
1988	MIN	AL	1	1	5	2	0	0	0	11.2	16	13	9	7	10.03	3.73 (-169%)	-693.6
Career · 25 seasons			221	204	702	500	107	29	16	3,584.0	3,466	1,431	1,262	1,747	3.59	—	-3,057

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Joe Niekro — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
706	973	55	152	26	1	1	72	1	38	262	.156	.188	.188	.376	-6,409

Career AVG .156 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 39.0% below league average.

Career OBP .188 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 41.7% below league average.

Career SLG .188 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — 50.5% below league average.

Career OPS .376 vs. league average .702 across their career seasons — 46.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Niekro Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1967	CHN	NL	36	46	5	9	2	0	0	11	1	1	13	.196	—	—	—	—	0.0
1968	CHN	NL	34	60	2	6	0	0	0	0	0	4	23	.100	.236 (-58%)	.298 (-48%)	.340 (-71%)	.638 (-60%)	-503.6
1969	CHN	NL	4	5	0	1	1	0	0	2	0	0	1	.200	—	—	—	—	0.0
1969	SDN	NL	38	51	1	6	1	0	0	2	0	6	17	.118	.248 (-53%)	.320 (-35%)	.369 (-63%)	.689 (-50%)	0.0
1970	DET	AL	39	66	8	13	3	1	0	7	0	7	17	.197	.253 (-22%)	.325 (-16%)	.385 (-29%)	.711 (-23%)	-240.9
1971	DET	AL	32	30	5	4	1	0	0	2	0	2	9	.133	—	—	—	—	0.0
1972	DET	AL	18	12	2	3	1	0	0	1	0	1	4	.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1973	ATL	NL	20	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	ATL	NL	27	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	HOU	NL	40	14	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	.214	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	HOU	NL	36	27	1	5	2	0	1	1	0	1	8	.185	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	HOU	NL	44	50	2	7	0	0	0	2	0	2	13	.140	.264 (-47%)	.329 (-47%)	.401 (-65%)	.730 (-57%)	-453.4
1978	HOU	NL	36	65	6	9	2	0	0	5	0	0	18	.138	.257 (-46%)	.323 (-57%)	.378 (-55%)	.702 (-56%)	-571.1
1979	HOU	NL	38	83	1	10	2	0	0	4	0	2	21	.120	.265 (-55%)	.329 (-58%)	.397 (-64%)	.727 (-61%)	-823.8
1980	HOU	NL	37	80	7	22	5	0	0	10	0	4	15	.275	.264 (+4%)	.326 (-5%)	.387 (-13%)	.714 (-9%)	-118.6
1981	HOU	NL	24	51	1	9	1	0	0	6	0	2	10	.176	.255 (-31%)	.320 (-35%)	.368 (-47%)	.688 (-41%)	-320.8
1982	HOU	NL	35	89	2	8	2	0	0	5	0	1	30	.090	.261 (-66%)	.324 (-69%)	.388 (-71%)	.712 (-70%)	-999.0
1983	HOU	NL	38	85	1	8	2	0	0	2	0	0	22	.094	.260 (-64%)	.324 (-68%)	.389 (-70%)	.714 (-69%)	-922.1
1984	HOU	NL	38	83	4	11	0	0	0	6	0	2	21	.133	.259 (-49%)	.322 (-53%)	.384 (-66%)	.707 (-60%)	-766.1
1985	HOU	NL	32	68	6	17	1	0	0	6	0	1	16	.250	.257 (-3%)	.323 (-20%)	.390 (-32%)	.714 (-27%)	-295.4
1985	NYA	AL	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	-295.4
1986	NYA	AL	25	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	NYA	AL	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	MIN	AL	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	MIN	AL	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 25 seasons			706	973	55	152	26	1	1	72	1	38	262	.156	—	—	—	—	-6,310

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Joe Niekro — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
4	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Joe Niekro — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	SO	AVG
1987	WS	MIN	1	0	0	.000
1981	NWDIV	HOU	1	2	0	.000
1980	NLCS	HOU	1	3	1	.000
1972	ALCS	DET	1	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Joe Niekro — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	0	3	2	0	20.0	14	0	5	7	0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Joe Niekro — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	GS	IP	H	BB	SO
1987	WS	MIN	1	0	2.0	1	1	1
1981	NWDIV	HOU	1	1	8.0	7	3	4
1980	NLCS	HOU	1	1	10.0	6	1	2

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1406 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Joe Niekro — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	343	452	25	65	0	37	.144
Away	362	519	30	87	1	35	.168

Pitching — Home / Away

Joe Niekro — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	342	1803.0	1739	678	623	867	3.38
Away	359	1772.1	1721	753	636	874	3.82

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Joe Niekro — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1988-04-29	MIN	BOS	—	3.0	6	5	5	6	3	0
1988-04-23	MIN	CLE	—	4.0	3	1	1	1	2	1
1988-04-22	MIN	CLE	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1988-04-19	MIN	NYY	L	1.2	7	7	7	2	1	1
1988-04-12	MIN	CLE	W	2.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1987-10-04	MIN	KCR	L	1.1	3	6	6	3	1	0
1987-09-28	MIN	TEX	—	6.1	9	3	3	2	2	0
1987-09-22	MIN	TEX	W	5.1	6	4	2	0	4	1
1987-09-15	MIN	CHW	L	6.0	9	4	4	0	3	0
1987-09-01	MIN	BOS	L	4.0	8	5	5	2	1	2

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Joe Niekro — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	702	500	253	532	25	41

Season-by-Season Fielding

Joe Niekro — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1967	CHN	P	36	22	10	26	0	1
1968	CHN	P	34	29	9	33	0	2
1969	CHN	P	4	3	2	5	0	1
1969	SDN	P	37	31	19	29	5	1
1970	DET	P	38	34	17	35	1	1
1971	DET	P	31	15	9	25	1	1
1972	DET	P	18	7	5	4	0	1
1973	ATL	P	20	0	2	5	0	2
1974	ATL	P	27	2	4	8	0	1
1975	HOU	P	40	4	7	13	0	0
1976	HOU	P	36	13	9	13	3	1
1977	HOU	P	44	14	11	31	0	7
1978	HOU	P	35	29	18	21	0	3
1979	HOU	P	38	38	14	39	0	4
1980	HOU	P	37	36	17	37	2	2
1981	HOU	P	24	24	11	23	0	1
1982	HOU	P	35	35	22	42	3	2
1983	HOU	P	38	38	9	36	4	0
1984	HOU	P	38	38	19	39	2	5
1985	HOU	P	32	32	14	34	1	1
1985	NYA	P	3	3	3	2	0	0
1986	NYA	P	25	25	9	13	1	2
1987	NYA	P	8	8	5	5	1	0
1987	MIN	P	19	18	6	11	1	1
1988	MIN	P	5	2	2	3	0	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Joe Niekro Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	702

Awards & Honors

Joe Niekro — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1979	Pitcher of the Month	May
1979	TSN All-Star	RHP
1979	TSN Pitcher of the Year

Salary History

Joe Niekro's recorded salaries total $2,375,000 over 3 seasons, 1985 to 1988. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Niekro's career ran from 1967 to 1988. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1987.

Joe Niekro — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1988	MIN	AL	$800,000
1986	NYA	AL	$750,000
1985	HOU	NL	$825,000
Total recorded salary (partial)			$2,375,000

College History

Joe Niekro — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
West Liberty State College	West Liberty	WV	1963, 1964, 1965

Award Voting History

Joe Niekro — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1980	Cy Young Award	NL	4th	11.0	120	0
1980	Most Valuable Player	NL	19th	3.0	336	0
1979	Cy Young Award	NL	2nd	66.0	120	9
1979	Most Valuable Player	NL	6th	75.0	336	1

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Joe Niekro (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Joe Niekro: the record in brief

April 16, 1967 and April 29, 1988 bracket Joe Niekro's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the Chicago Cubs (1967 through 1969), the San Diego Padres (1969), the Detroit Tigers (1970 to 1972), the Atlanta Braves (1973 through 1974), the Houston Astros (1975 through 1985), the New York Yankees (1985 to 1987), and the Minnesota Twins (1987 through 1988). Niekro played primarily as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. Born on November 7, 1944, in Martins Ferry, OH, USA, Niekro was listed at 185 pounds on a 6-foot-1 frame. Niekro's death is recorded on October 27, 2006, in Tampa, FL, USA. Joe Niekro was the playing name; the full given name is Joseph Franklin.

Niekro pitched in 702 games, starting 500, and finished with a 221-204 record and 3.59 ERA. Also on Niekro's record: 1,747 strikeouts, 107 complete games, 29 shutouts, and 16 saves. Niekro's 3.59 ERA was close to the 3.73 league figure for those seasons.

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Niekro

What years did Joe Niekro play?: Joe Niekro played in Major League Baseball from 1967 to 1988.
Was Joe Niekro a pitcher?: Yes. Joe Niekro pitched in the major leagues, recording 221 wins and 1747 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Joe Niekro hit?: Joe Niekro hit 1 career home run with 152 hits.
What teams did Joe Niekro play for?: Joe Niekro played for 7 teams: the Chicago Cubs (1967–1969), the San Diego Padres (1969), the Detroit Tigers (1970–1972), the Atlanta Braves (1973–1974), the Houston Astros (1975–1985), the New York Yankees (1985–1987), and the Minnesota Twins (1987–1988).
Did Joe Niekro win a Cy Young Award?: No. Joe Niekro did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Joe Niekro win?: Joe Niekro was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were Joe Niekro's career stats?: In 702 games, Joe Niekro went 221-204 with a 3.59 ERA, 1,747 strikeouts, 3,584.0 innings pitched, and 16 saves. At the plate he had 152 hits and 1 home runs.
How much did Joe Niekro earn in his career?: Joe Niekro's recorded salaries total $2,375,000 over 3 seasons, 1985 to 1988. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Niekro's career ran from 1967 to 1988. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1987.
What was Joe Niekro's salary?: Joe Niekro's last recorded salary was $800,000, in 1988. His highest recorded salary was $825,000, in 1985, and his lowest was $750,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1988.
What position did Joe Niekro play?: Joe Niekro played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Joe Niekro and how much did he weigh?: Joe Niekro was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 185 pounds.
What was Joe Niekro's career ERA?: Joe Niekro finished with a 3.59 career ERA, going 221-204 with 1,747 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Joe Niekro have?: Joe Niekro recorded 1,747 career strikeouts.
Is Joe Niekro in the Hall of Fame?: No. Joe Niekro has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.