Lance William Niekro (/ˈniːkroʊ/NEE-kroh; born January 29, 1979) is an American baseball coach and former first baseman, who is the current head baseball coach of the Florida Southern Moccasins. He played college baseball at Florida Southern for coach Chuck Anderson from 1999 to 2000 and then played four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2003 to 2007. After his playing career concluded, he served as an assistant coach at Florida Southern and then was elevated to the head coach position on May 9, 2012. He is the son of MLB pitcher Joe Niekro and nephew of MLB pitcher Phil Niekro.
Following the 2005 season, Snow and the Giants parted ways. As a result, Niekro was given his shot as the everyday first baseman, but was sent back down to the minors. During the 2006 season, his replacements were Mark Sweeney, Travis Ishikawa, Chad Santos and Shea Hillenbrand.
On May 4, 2007, the Giants designated Niekro for assignment and recalled Scott Munter from Triple-A Fresno. He was later optioned to the Fresno Grizzlies when no other team claimed him. He became a free agent after the season. Like his father and uncle, Niekro can throw a knuckleball, and was first allowed to pitch professionally for the Grizzlies in August 2007.
Houston Astrosedit
On January 10, 2008, the Houston Astros signed Niekro to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. He was released on May 2, 2008 and retired, getting a job with a telecommunications company.[5]
Atlanta Bravesedit
On December 18, 2008, Niekro decided to make a comeback as a knuckleball pitcher and was signed by the Atlanta Braves to a minor league contract.[5][6] He pitched one season in the Braves' system, appearing in 14 games for the Gulf Coast League Braves in 2009 before becoming a free agent at the end of the year.
Coaching careeredit
In 2010, Niekro was named an assistant coach at Florida Southern. On May 9, 2012, Niekro succeeded Pete Meyer as the head coach of the Florida Southern Moccasins, a program that has produced the most NCAA Championships in Division II play (9).[7]
^"HE'D RATHER HIT KNUCKLEBALLS". si.com. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
^"1999 Orleans Cardinals". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
^"2000 Orleans Cardinals". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
^"HALL OF FAME NEWS". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
^ abHenry Schulman (2008-12-18). "Ex-Giants infielder Lance Niekro launches comeback, as a knuckleballer". sfgate.com. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
^Kepner, Tyler "Lance Niekro Dusts Off a Family Heirloom: The Knuckleball" The New York Times, Sunday, February 22, 2009
^"Lance Niekro Named Mocs' Head Baseball Coach ** FSCMocs.com". Archived from the original on 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
External linksedit
Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
Lance Niekro Stats at RotoWire.com
January 01, 1970
lance, niekro, lance, william, niekro, kroh, born, january, 1979, american, baseball, coach, former, first, baseman, current, head, baseball, coach, florida, southern, moccasins, played, college, baseball, florida, southern, coach, chuck, anderson, from, 1999,. Lance William Niekro ˈ n iː k r oʊ NEE kroh born January 29 1979 is an American baseball coach and former first baseman who is the current head baseball coach of the Florida Southern Moccasins He played college baseball at Florida Southern for coach Chuck Anderson from 1999 to 2000 and then played four seasons in Major League Baseball MLB from 2003 to 2007 After his playing career concluded he served as an assistant coach at Florida Southern and then was elevated to the head coach position on May 9 2012 He is the son of MLB pitcher Joe Niekro and nephew of MLB pitcher Phil Niekro Lance NiekroNiekro with the San Francisco Giants in 2006First basemanBorn 1979 01 29 January 29 1979 age 45 Winter Haven Florida U S Batted RightThrew RightMLB debutSeptember 5 2003 for the San Francisco GiantsLast MLB appearanceMay 2 2007 for the San Francisco GiantsMLB statisticsBatting average 246Home runs17Runs batted in79TeamsSan Francisco Giants 2003 2005 2007 Contents 1 Career 1 1 High School and College 1 2 San Francisco Giants 1 3 Houston Astros 1 4 Atlanta Braves 1 5 Coaching career 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksCareer editHigh School and College edit Born in Winter Haven Florida Niekro graduated from George W Jenkins High School in Lakeland Florida and attended Florida Southern College While in high school he had transitioned from being a knuckleball pitcher to a position player playing third base at Florida Southern 1 In 1999 and 2000 he played collegiate summer baseball for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League CCBL and was named league MVP in 1999 He was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2006 2 3 4 San Francisco Giants edit Niekro was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the second round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft He began his professional career as a third baseman but moved to first base in the minor leagues due to injury Niekro first reached the major leagues in 2003 but only had five at bats He saw more substantial playing time in 2005 when he split time with J T Snow at first base and played in 113 games finishing the season with a 252 batting average 12 home runs and 46 RBI in 278 at bats Following the 2005 season Snow and the Giants parted ways As a result Niekro was given his shot as the everyday first baseman but was sent back down to the minors During the 2006 season his replacements were Mark Sweeney Travis Ishikawa Chad Santos and Shea Hillenbrand On May 4 2007 the Giants designated Niekro for assignment and recalled Scott Munter from Triple A Fresno He was later optioned to the Fresno Grizzlies when no other team claimed him He became a free agent after the season Like his father and uncle Niekro can throw a knuckleball and was first allowed to pitch professionally for the Grizzlies in August 2007 Houston Astros edit On January 10 2008 the Houston Astros signed Niekro to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training He was released on May 2 2008 and retired getting a job with a telecommunications company 5 Atlanta Braves edit On December 18 2008 Niekro decided to make a comeback as a knuckleball pitcher and was signed by the Atlanta Braves to a minor league contract 5 6 He pitched one season in the Braves system appearing in 14 games for the Gulf Coast League Braves in 2009 before becoming a free agent at the end of the year Coaching career edit In 2010 Niekro was named an assistant coach at Florida Southern On May 9 2012 Niekro succeeded Pete Meyer as the head coach of the Florida Southern Moccasins a program that has produced the most NCAA Championships in Division II play 9 7 See also editList of second generation Major League Baseball playersReferences edit HE D RATHER HIT KNUCKLEBALLS si com Retrieved August 2 2019 1999 Orleans Cardinals thebaseballcube com Retrieved July 20 2021 2000 Orleans Cardinals thebaseballcube com Retrieved July 20 2021 HALL OF FAME NEWS capecodbaseball org Retrieved August 2 2019 a b Henry Schulman 2008 12 18 Ex Giants infielder Lance Niekro launches comeback as a knuckleballer sfgate com Retrieved 2008 12 19 Kepner Tyler Lance Niekro Dusts Off a Family Heirloom The Knuckleball The New York Times Sunday February 22 2009 Lance Niekro Named Mocs Head Baseball Coach FSCMocs com Archived from the original on 2013 01 23 Retrieved 2012 06 27 External links editCareer statistics and player information from MLB or ESPN or Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or Baseball Reference Minors Lance Niekro Stats at RotoWire com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lance Niekro amp oldid 1203834185, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
