Joe Niekro played in Major League Baseball from 1967 to 1988, appearing in 702 games over 22 seasons. He recorded a total of 221 W and 204 L, an ERA of 3.59, 1,747 SO, a WHIP of 1.319, and a WAR of 28.7.
Joe Niekro Yearly Pitching Stats
This chart shows the season-by-season changes in ERA, SO, and IP for Joe Niekro.
🧾 Basic Profile
 | |
| Name | Joe Niekro |
| Date of Birth | November 7, 1944 |
| Nationality |  United States |
| MLB Debut | 1967 |
📊 Career Summary
Joe Niekro appeared in 702 games over 22 MLB seasons from 1967 to 1988. Below are his cumulative stats and MLB all-time rankings:
| GS | 500 (MLB Rank: 50) |
| GF | 93 (MLB Rank: 837) |
| W | 221 (MLB Rank: 79) |
| L | 204 (MLB Rank: 43) |
| SV | 16 (MLB Rank: 895) |
| ERA | 3.59 (MLB Rank: 2,759) |
| IP | 3584.1 (MLB Rank: 63) |
| SHO | 29 (MLB Rank: 126) |
| CG | 107 (MLB Rank: 366) |
| SO | 1,747 (MLB Rank: 133) |
| BB | 1262 (MLB Rank: 39) |
| H | 3,466 (MLB Rank: 68) |
| HR | 276 (MLB Rank: 88) |
| SO9 | 4.39 (MLB Rank: 6,536) |
| BB9 | 3.17 (MLB Rank: 7,845) |
| H9 | 8.7 (MLB Rank: 8,214) |
| HR9 | 0.69 (MLB Rank: 6,161) |
| WHIP | 1.319 (MLB Rank: 8,966) |
| WAR | 28.7 (MLB Rank: 324) |
📊 Last Season Summary (1988)
In his final season (1988), Joe Niekro recorded the following stats:
| GS | 2 |
| GF | 2 |
| W | 1 |
| L | 1 |
| ERA | 10.03 |
| IP | 11.2 |
| SO | 7 |
| BB | 9 |
| H | 16 |
| HR | 2 |
| SO9 | 5.4 |
| BB9 | 6.94 |
| H9 | 12.34 |
| HR9 | 1.54 |
| WHIP | 2.143 |
| WAR | −0.4 |
📈 Seasonal Highlights
- Most Wins: 1979, 21 W
- Most SO: 1983, 152 SO
- Most IP: 1982, 270 IP
- Best WAR: 1982, 6.8 WAR
- Best ERA: 1982, 2.47 ERA
🎯 Postseason Performance
Joe Niekro appeared in 2 games during the postseason. He recorded an ERA of 0, pitched 18 IP, struck out 6 batters, with 0 W and 0 L.
Joe Niekro Career Pitching Stats Overview
| season | W | L | ERA | W-L% | SV | SO | IP | WAR | WHIP | HR | H | BB | R | ER | ERA+ | FIP | SO9 | SO/BB | GS | G | GF | CG | SHO | HR9 | H9 | BB9 | BK | HBP | IBB | WP | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1967 | 10 | 7 | 3.34 | 0.588 | 0 | 77 | 169.2 | 1.8 | 1.196 | 15 | 171 | 32 | 68 | 63 | 106 | 3.38 | 4.1 | 2.41 | 22 | 36 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0.8 | 9.1 | 1.7 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 706 |
1968 | 14 | 10 | 4.31 | 0.583 | 2 | 65 | 177.1 | -1 | 1.483 | 18 | 204 | 59 | 93 | 85 | 74 | 4.02 | 3.3 | 1.1 | 29 | 34 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0.9 | 10.4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 769 |
1969 | 8 | 18 | 3.7 | 0.308 | 0 | 62 | 221.1 | 2.5 | 1.301 | 18 | 237 | 51 | 100 | 91 | 97 | 3.7 | 2.5 | 1.22 | 34 | 41 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 0.7 | 9.6 | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 928 |
1970 | 12 | 13 | 4.06 | 0.48 | 0 | 101 | 213 | 2.6 | 1.376 | 28 | 221 | 72 | 107 | 96 | 93 | 4.45 | 4.3 | 1.4 | 34 | 38 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 1.2 | 9.3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 914 |
1971 | 6 | 7 | 4.49 | 0.462 | 1 | 43 | 122.1 | 0.4 | 1.512 | 13 | 136 | 49 | 62 | 61 | 81 | 4.38 | 3.2 | 0.88 | 15 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3.6 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 540 |
1972 | 3 | 2 | 3.83 | 0.6 | 1 | 24 | 47 | 0.4 | 1.489 | 3 | 62 | 8 | 20 | 20 | 83 | 2.78 | 4.6 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0.6 | 11.9 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 199 |
1973 | 2 | 4 | 4.13 | 0.333 | 3 | 12 | 24 | 0.1 | 1.417 | 2 | 23 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 98 | 4.02 | 4.5 | 1.09 | 0 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 | 8.6 | 4.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 99 |
1974 | 3 | 2 | 3.56 | 0.6 | 0 | 31 | 43 | 0.2 | 1.256 | 5 | 36 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 107 | 4.04 | 6.5 | 1.72 | 2 | 27 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7.5 | 3.8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 178 |
1975 | 6 | 4 | 3.07 | 0.6 | 4 | 54 | 88 | 1.4 | 1.341 | 3 | 79 | 39 | 32 | 30 | 111 | 3.2 | 5.5 | 1.38 | 4 | 40 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0.3 | 8.1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 378 |
1976 | 4 | 8 | 3.36 | 0.333 | 0 | 77 | 118 | -0.3 | 1.381 | 8 | 107 | 56 | 60 | 44 | 95 | 3.66 | 5.9 | 1.38 | 13 | 36 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 | 8.2 | 4.3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 515 |
1977 | 13 | 8 | 3.04 | 0.619 | 5 | 101 | 180.2 | 2.5 | 1.212 | 14 | 155 | 64 | 66 | 61 | 117 | 3.71 | 5 | 1.58 | 14 | 44 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 0.7 | 7.7 | 3.2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 737 |
1978 | 14 | 14 | 3.86 | 0.5 | 0 | 97 | 202.2 | 0.9 | 1.298 | 13 | 190 | 73 | 97 | 87 | 85 | 3.68 | 4.3 | 1.33 | 29 | 35 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 0.6 | 8.4 | 3.2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 861 |
1979 | 21 | 11 | 3 | 0.656 | 0 | 119 | 263.2 | 3.5 | 1.244 | 17 | 221 | 107 | 102 | 88 | 117 | 3.96 | 4.1 | 1.11 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 0.6 | 7.5 | 3.7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 19 | 1095 |
1980 | 20 | 12 | 3.55 | 0.625 | 0 | 127 | 256 | 0.9 | 1.355 | 12 | 268 | 79 | 119 | 101 | 93 | 3.34 | 4.5 | 1.61 | 36 | 37 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 0.4 | 9.4 | 2.8 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 1096 |
1981 | 9 | 9 | 2.82 | 0.5 | 0 | 77 | 166 | 1.8 | 1.187 | 8 | 150 | 47 | 60 | 52 | 117 | 3.15 | 4.2 | 1.64 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0.4 | 8.1 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 676 |
1982 | 17 | 12 | 2.47 | 0.586 | 0 | 130 | 270 | 6.8 | 1.067 | 12 | 224 | 64 | 79 | 74 | 135 | 3.1 | 4.3 | 2.03 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 0.4 | 7.5 | 2.1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 1067 |
1983 | 15 | 14 | 3.48 | 0.517 | 0 | 152 | 263.2 | 1.7 | 1.286 | 15 | 238 | 101 | 115 | 102 | 97 | 3.52 | 5.2 | 1.5 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0.5 | 8.1 | 3.4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 1113 |
1984 | 16 | 12 | 3.04 | 0.571 | 0 | 127 | 248.1 | 2.2 | 1.256 | 16 | 223 | 89 | 104 | 84 | 109 | 3.71 | 4.6 | 1.43 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0.6 | 8.1 | 3.2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 1027 |
1985 | 11 | 13 | 3.83 | 0.458 | 0 | 121 | 225.1 | 1.5 | 1.411 | 24 | 211 | 107 | 108 | 96 | 91 | 4.49 | 4.8 | 1.13 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8.4 | 4.3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 21 | 983 |
1986 | 9 | 10 | 4.87 | 0.474 | 0 | 59 | 125.2 | -0.6 | 1.607 | 15 | 139 | 63 | 84 | 68 | 84 | 4.91 | 4.2 | 0.94 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 | 10 | 4.5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 571 |