Lance William Niekro ( ; born January 29, 1979) is a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

coach and former

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, who is the current head baseball coach of the

Florida Southern Moccasins The Florida Southern Moccasins (also shortened to Florida Southern Mocs) are the athletic teams that represent Florida Southern College, located in Lakeland, Florida, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Moccasins compete as members of ...

. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at Florida Southern for coach Chuck Anderson from 1999 to 2000 and then played four seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(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 Joseph Franklin Niekro ( ; November 7, 1944 – October 27, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was the younger brother of pitcher Phil Niekro, and the father of former Major League first baseman Lance Niekro. Niekr ...

and nephew of MLB pitcher

Phil Niekro Philip Henry Niekro ( ; April 1, 1939 – December 26, 2020), nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball, 20 of them with the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves. Niekro's 31 ...

Career

High School and College

Born in

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is fifty-one miles east of Tampa. The population was 49,219 at the 2020 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 estimates, this city had a population of 44,955, making i ...

, Niekro graduated from George W. Jenkins High School in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

, and attended

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. The college offers 50 undergradu ...

. While in high school, he had transitioned from being a

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This chan ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

to a

position player In baseball, a position player is a player who on defense plays as an infielder, outfielder, or catcher. In Major League Baseball (since 1973 in the American League and since 2022 in the National League), there is also a designated hitter, who ba ...

, playing

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

at Florida Southern. In 1999 and 2000, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play t ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

(CCBL), and was named league

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

in 1999. He was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2006.

San Francisco Giants

Niekro was selected by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

in the second round of the

2000 Major League Baseball draft First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins made Adrián González of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California the first overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. González, who was rated as ...

. He began his professional career as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, but moved to

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

in the minor leagues due to injury. Niekro first reached the major leagues in , but only had five

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s. He saw more substantial playing time in , when he split time with

J. T. Snow Jack Thomas Snow Jr. (born February 26, 1968) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball from to , most notably as a member of the San Franci ...

at first base and played in 113 games, finishing the season with a .252

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, 12

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 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 season, his replacements were

Mark Sweeney Mark Patrick Sweeney (born October 26, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who played for several teams from 1995 to 2008. He is best known for his skill as a pinch hitter, where he ranks second in career pinch h ...

Travis Ishikawa Travis Takashi Ishikawa (born September 24, 1983) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played for the San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates. Ishikawa has also ...

Chad Santos Chad Roque Santos (born April 28, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He bats and throws left-handed. Santos was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 22nd round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft. He last played in ...

and

Shea Hillenbrand Shea Matthew Hillenbrand (born July 27, 1975) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Gia ...

. On May 4, , the Giants designated Niekro for assignment and recalled

Scott Munter Scott Michael Munter (born March 7, 1980) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He attended St. James/Seton grade school and Creighton Preparatory School in Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska. He then attended the University of Oklahom ...

from Triple-A Fresno. He was later optioned to Fresno when no other team claimed him. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the season. Like his father and uncle, Niekro can throw a

, and was first allowed to pitch professionally for the Grizzlies in August 2007.

Houston Astros

On January 10, , the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

signed Niekro to a minor league contract with an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He was released on May 2, 2008 and retired, getting a job with a telecommunications company.

Atlanta Braves

On December 18, 2008, Niekro decided to make a comeback as a knuckleball pitcher and was signed by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

to a minor league contract. He pitched one season in the Braves' system, appearing in 14 games for the

Gulf Coast League Braves The Florida Complex League Braves are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Braves. The team plays at CoolTod ...

in before becoming a free agent at the end of the year.

Coaching career

In , 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).

References

External links

Lance Niekro Stats at RotoWire.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niekro, Lance 1979 births Living people Florida Southern Moccasins baseball players Orleans Firebirds players Major League Baseball first basemen Baseball players from Florida San Francisco Giants players San Jose Giants players Fresno Grizzlies players Round Rock Express players Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players Knuckleball pitchers George W. Jenkins High School alumni American people of Polish descent Sportspeople from Lakeland, Florida Florida Southern Moccasins baseball coaches Gulf Coast Braves players Grand Canyon Rafters players Shreveport Swamp Dragons players