Joe Niekro
1967–1988 · 22 seasons · Bats right, throws right · Born 1944
JavaScript is switched off, so the extra columns cannot be unfolded. Every season below is already on the page and every number in it is real.
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Pitching
| Season | Team | Lg | G | GS | IP | W | L | SV | SO | BB | H | ER | ERA | WHIP | WAR | FIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Chicago Cubs | NL | 36 | 22 | 169.7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 77 | 32 | 171 | 63 | 3.34 | 1.20 | 1.3 | 3.38 |
| 1968 | Chicago Cubs | NL | 34 | 29 | 177.0 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 65 | 59 | 204 | 85 | 4.32 | 1.49 | -0.7 | 4.02 |
| 1969 | San Diego Padres | NL | 41 | 34 | 221.3 | 8 | 18 | 0 | 62 | 51 | 237 | 91 | 3.70 | 1.30 | 1.7 | 3.70 |
| 1970 | Detroit Tigers | AL | 38 | 34 | 213.0 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 101 | 72 | 221 | 96 | 4.06 | 1.38 | 0.6 | 4.46 |
| 1971 | Detroit Tigers | AL | 31 | 15 | 122.3 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 43 | 49 | 136 | 61 | 4.49 | 1.51 | -0.6 | 4.38 |
| 1972 | Detroit Tigers | AL | 18 | 7 | 47.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 8 | 62 | 20 | 3.83 | 1.49 | 0.6 | 2.78 |
| 1973 | Atlanta Braves | NL | 20 | 0 | 24.0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 11 | 4.13 | 1.42 | 0.0 | 4.02 |
| 1974 | Atlanta Braves | NL | 27 | 2 | 43.0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 18 | 36 | 17 | 3.56 | 1.26 | 0.0 | 4.04 |
| 1975 | Houston Astros | NL | 40 | 4 | 88.0 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 54 | 39 | 79 | 30 | 3.07 | 1.34 | 0.7 | 3.20 |
| 1976 | Houston Astros | NL | 36 | 13 | 118.0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 77 | 56 | 107 | 44 | 3.36 | 1.38 | 0.1 | 3.66 |
| 1977 | Houston Astros | NL | 44 | 14 | 180.7 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 101 | 64 | 155 | 61 | 3.04 | 1.21 | 1.0 | 3.71 |
| 1978 | Houston Astros | NL | 35 | 29 | 202.7 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 97 | 73 | 190 | 87 | 3.86 | 1.30 | 1.3 | 3.67 |
| 1979 | Houston Astros | NL | 38 | 38 | 263.7 | 21 | 11 | 0 | 119 | 107 | 221 | 88 | 3.00 | 1.24 | 2.4 | 3.96 |
| 1980 | Houston Astros | NL | 37 | 36 | 256.0 | 20 | 12 | 0 | 127 | 79 | 268 | 101 | 3.55 | 1.35 | 3.5 | 3.34 |
| 1981 | Houston Astros | NL | 24 | 24 | 166.0 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 77 | 47 | 150 | 52 | 2.82 | 1.19 | 2.3 | 3.15 |
| 1982 | Houston Astros | NL | 35 | 35 | 270.0 | 17 | 12 | 0 | 130 | 64 | 224 | 74 | 2.47 | 1.07 | 4.7 | 3.10 |
| 1983 | Houston Astros | NL | 38 | 38 | 263.7 | 15 | 14 | 0 | 152 | 101 | 238 | 102 | 3.48 | 1.29 | 3.3 | 3.52 |
| 1984 | Houston Astros | NL | 38 | 38 | 248.3 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 127 | 89 | 223 | 84 | 3.04 | 1.26 | 2.3 | 3.71 |
| 1985 | Houston Astros | NL | 35 | 35 | 225.3 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 121 | 107 | 211 | 96 | 3.83 | 1.41 | 0.4 | 4.49 |
| 1986 | New York Yankees | AL | 25 | 25 | 125.7 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 59 | 63 | 139 | 68 | 4.87 | 1.61 | -0.2 | 4.91 |
| 1987 | Minnesota Twins | AL | 27 | 26 | 147.0 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 84 | 64 | 155 | 87 | 5.33 | 1.49 | 1.1 | 4.57 |
| 1988 | Minnesota Twins | AL | 5 | 2 | 11.7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 10.03 | 2.14 | -0.3 | 6.11 |
| Career | 22 seasons | 702 | 500 | 3584.0 | 221 | 204 | 16 | 1747 | 1262 | 3466 | 1431 | 3.59 | 1.32 | 25.6 | — | |
Hitting
| Season | Team | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Chicago Cubs | NL | 36 | 58 | 46 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 13 | 1 | .196 | .204 | .239 | .443 | -0.4 |
| 1968 | Chicago Cubs | NL | 34 | 73 | 60 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 0 | .100 | .156 | .100 | .256 | -1.0 |
| 1969 | San Diego Padres | NL | 42 | 69 | 56 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 0 | .125 | .206 | .161 | .367 | -0.6 |
| 1970 | Detroit Tigers | AL | 39 | 88 | 66 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 0 | .197 | .274 | .273 | .547 | -0.2 |
| 1971 | Detroit Tigers | AL | 32 | 38 | 30 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 0 | .133 | .188 | .167 | .354 | -0.4 |
| 1972 | Detroit Tigers | AL | 18 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .250 | .308 | .333 | .641 | 0.0 |
| 1973 | Atlanta Braves | NL | 20 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 0.0 |
| 1974 | Atlanta Braves | NL | 27 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | -0.2 |
| 1975 | Houston Astros | NL | 40 | 18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .214 | .313 | .214 | .527 | 0.0 |
| 1976 | Houston Astros | NL | 36 | 32 | 27 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .185 | .214 | .370 | .585 | 0.0 |
| 1977 | Houston Astros | NL | 44 | 55 | 50 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 0 | .140 | .173 | .140 | .313 | -0.7 |
| 1978 | Houston Astros | NL | 36 | 74 | 65 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0 | .138 | .138 | .169 | .308 | -0.9 |
| 1979 | Houston Astros | NL | 38 | 99 | 83 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 0 | .120 | .140 | .145 | .284 | -1.3 |
| 1980 | Houston Astros | NL | 37 | 102 | 80 | 7 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 15 | 0 | .275 | .310 | .338 | .647 | 0.1 |
| 1981 | Houston Astros | NL | 24 | 64 | 51 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 0 | .176 | .208 | .196 | .404 | -0.5 |
| 1982 | Houston Astros | NL | 35 | 98 | 89 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 30 | 0 | .090 | .099 | .112 | .211 | -1.6 |
| 1983 | Houston Astros | NL | 38 | 98 | 85 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | .094 | .105 | .118 | .222 | -1.6 |
| 1984 | Houston Astros | NL | 38 | 96 | 83 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 21 | 0 | .133 | .153 | .133 | .285 | -1.2 |
| 1985 | Houston Astros | NL | 35 | 80 | 68 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 16 | 0 | .250 | .257 | .265 | .522 | -0.3 |
| 1986 | New York Yankees | AL | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1987 | New York Yankees | AL | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1988 | Minnesota Twins | AL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 22 seasons | 706 | 1165 | 973 | 55 | 152 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 72 | 38 | 262 | 1 | .156 | .189 | .188 | .377 | -10.8 | |
Gold shading marks a top-five finish in that league that season. Filled for first, shaded for second and third, faint for fourth and fifth, with the exact place in the corner of the cell. These rankings are ours, not part of the source data: we work them out from the season lines on this site and count each league on its own, so a first in the American League is not a first across baseball. Rate statistics use the same qualifying line as the season tool, which is why a relief pitcher can have the lowest ERA in his league and still have no shading on it — he did not pitch enough innings to qualify. A ranking is only drawn when its column is on screen; press Show all columns for the rest. On a season where this player both batted and pitched, the WAR column is left unshaded either way: the data keeps one WAR ranking for the year and does not say which of the two it belongs to, and a guess here would put a league lead on the wrong line.
The dark chips beside a season are awards. Those are records rather than our arithmetic: MVP (Most Valuable Player), CY (Cy Young Award), ROY (Rookie of the Year), GG (Gold Glove), SS (Silver Slugger). Two of them are lettered in the metal they are named after — Gold Glove in gold, Silver Slugger in silver — but the letters say which is which, so nothing here depends on telling the two apart by colour.
Any shaded cell or chip will explain itself. Point at one, or tab to it and it opens on focus, and it names the league, the season and the statistic in full. On a touchscreen, tap it once to open and once more to close.
Not every award existed yet. This database has Silver Slugger from 1980. A season before that is a season the award did not exist, not a season this player missed out on.
The WAR columns are worked out on this site — they are not part of the source data, and they will not match Baseball-Reference exactly.
Everything else on this page comes straight from the Lahman database. WAR is our own calculation from those same season lines: fielding is estimated from putouts and assists rather than measured, fielding innings are missing before 1954, and the fielding component is capped. Treat it as a reasonable estimate of value, not as a record. The season tool explains the method in full.
— means the value is not in the source for that season, which is not the same as zero. In the Career and Subtotal rows it marks a statistic that cannot be added up across seasons — wOBA and FIP both need league constants that change every year, so we leave them blank rather than invent one. Leagues on this page: NL (National League), AL (American League).
Data for 1871 to 2025: Lahman Baseball Database 2025, compiled by SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) and licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported. Negro Leagues data licensed from Seamheads.com and included under SABR major-league recommendations (2021-02-11, 2024-06-03). The season lines on this page are our own derivative of that database — the WAR columns are computed here — and they are published under the same CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported licence, as ShareAlike requires. That database is published once a season is complete, so the 2026 figures on this site come from a different place: the MLB Stats API, whose notice reads “Copyright 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Use of any content on this page acknowledges agreement to the terms posted here http://gdx.mlb.com/components/copyright.txt”. Those numbers are MLB Advanced Media, L.P.’s, not SABR (Society for American Baseball Research)’s, and they carry that notice rather than the CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported licence above. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Major League Baseball or any of its clubs.