Hall of Fame pitcher Bill Negro, famous for his signature copy, dies at 81

Bill Negro, a pitcher who used his signature copy to fool generational hitters and create a Hall of Fame career, died Sunday night after a long battle with cancer, the Atlanta Braves announced Sunday. He is 81 years old.

Admitted to the Hall of Fame in 1997, Negro is one of the best and most enduring pitchers in the game of baseball, winning 318 games using his “butterfly” pitch, which spanned 24 seasons, with 20 Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves in those years.

“We are devastated by the death of our treasure friend Bill Negro,” Braves said in a statement. “Naxy Braves was bound in cloth, first in Milwaukee and then in Atlanta. Bill fought on the field and then always joined first in our community activities. It was during those community and fan activities that he interacted with the fans as if they were long lost friends.

“He has been a constant presence throughout our clubhouse, our alumni activities and Braves Nationwide for many years, and we will always be grateful that he has been an integral part of our organization.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Nancy, sons Philip, John and Michael and his two grandchildren Chase and Emma.”

This proved to be no barrier to age negro as it is with many duplicate pitchers. He has 121 wins since reaching the age of 40 – a major league record – and he drives until he is 48 years old. At the end of 1987, in his final season, he was ranked 10th in the major leagues in the number of seasons Negro played. Sai Young, “Foot” Calvin and Walter Johnson were the only Negroes to score more than 5,404 innings. A pitcher from the Dead-Ball era spent a lot of time on a big league mat.

“Bill Negro is one of the most unique and memorable pitchers of his generation,” MLP Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a prepared statement. “In the last century, no pitcher has bowled more than 5,404 innings for Bill. His knuckle ball led him to five All-Star selections, three 20-win seasons for the Atlanta Braves, a 300-win club and ultimately Cooperstown.

“But more than his signature pitch and trademark life, Bill will be remembered as one of the most brilliant figures in our game. He always represented his game extraordinarily well and he will make a deep mistake. Condolences to the many fans he has earned throughout his life. “

Knuckleball was a symbol of the Negro’s career success and longevity, preventing not only strange floating hitters and catchers, but also pitchers who never knew how the low-rotation pitch would dance toward the plate.

Negro was the king of copycat players, taking first place in victories and strikes (3,342). Tom Candiotti, a former Negro teammate with the Cleveland Indians in 1986, said that “talking to Naxi” was “like talking to Thomas Edison about light bulbs”.

If staying in the Majors is indebted to the Knuckles, the same can be said of the Negro’s initial difficulty in achieving major leagues. Catchers and managers who were wary of passing balls and wild pitches were often cited as reasons for the Negro persistence in the Brexit Minor League system. Signed in 1958, he has not broken for good for almost a decade. Yet Nagro had all the Negro, he believed.

“I don’t know how to throw a fastball, I haven’t learned how to throw a curve, a slider, a split-finger. Nowadays they just throw,” he said. “I’m a pitch jug.”

First called by Milwaukee in 1964, he saw between Negro majors and minors, a pitcher struggling to find a key and preferred catcher. He was a senior reserve backstop in 1967, when he teamed up with Bob Ucker, with many experiences and sage advice.

“Yug told me he’s going to be a winner if I’m ever going to throw a dummy,” he said. “I led the league in the ERA [1.87] He led the league in the balls he passed. “

Uger admits he chased a lot.

“It was so awesome to catch a Negro’s dummy,” said Uger, now a Hall of Fame announcer. “I’ve met a lot of important people. They’re all sitting behind the house plate.”

By 1969, Negro was an all-star. His 23 wins that season put him second in the National League Sy Young Award poll. He will live in the heads of hitters for two more decades. “There aren’t many hitters who want to face knuckle milk pitchers,” he said. “They won’t be intimidated by them, but they definitely think about them before they go out of the box.”

“Trying to attack Bill Negro is like trying to eat gel-oy with soapsticks,” said former Yankees all-star offfielder Bobby Murser.

“He’s wasting your time with that lick,” said Hall of Famer Ernie Banks. “It flies in there and jumps like crazy. You can’t hit it.”

“It really makes you laugh,” former offfielder Rick said Monday.

Born April 1, 1939, on a plane in Ohio, Negro is the proud heir of a family dynasty. Bill Negro Sr., a worker and part-time semi-pro pitcher, graduated from Knuckles after a hand injury threatened to end his playing days. He would teach his sons Bill Jr. and Joe when they were young. Bill and Joe, also known as “Nuxi” and “Little Naxi” respectively, are well-educated, picking up a total of 46 major league seasons and earning six All-Star Game berths, perhaps their proudest record, adding 539 wins.

Hall of Famer: Their victory is a major league record for the overall siblings as they break another brother mix featuring Keillard and Jim Perry (529 wins combined).

Although Bill and Joe Negro have been together twice, along with the 1973-74 Braves and 1985 Yankees, the two self-proclaimed best friends were mostly friendly rivals. In 1979, Bill plays for the Braves, and Joe for the Astros, the most successful team in the National League, 21 per cent. They clashed with each other as Mount foes, with Joe defeating his older brother 5-4 in their lifetime. Bill made that edge possible with a game-winning home run to Joe, the only Homer Joe winner in his 22-year career.

When Bill Negro won his 300th game, Joe was on his side, the most unique success of his older brother’s career. October 6, 1985 is the final day of the season. The Yankees were down for the postseason the previous day with a loss in Toronto. In the final, manager Billy Martin handed over the pitch coaching duties to Joe Negro and the ball to Bill Negro. Bill, who was trying for the fifth time to get to the 300th spot, entered the ninth base, covering Jayce with curved balls, slip pitches, fastballs and screwballs – everything except a knuckleball.

He will say later that he wants to prove that he is not only a boxer, but a pitcher. Then with two outs in ninth place the feeling finally took over. Confronted by old friend and former Braves player Jeff Burroughs, Bill Negro threw four pitches – the final three knuckles. Burrows exited, giving the Yankees an 8-0 victory and the Negro giving his milestone.

“I found myself going to win my 300th game by knocking out the guy, and I’m going to do this with the pitch that won the first game for me,” Negro said.

Bill Negro’s sports days ended in 1987, but he once wore a uniform as manager of the Colorado Silver Bullets (1994-1997), which sparked the women’s repository. His pitch coach? Joe Negro.

Phil Negro was brainwashed by Joe Negro in 2006 before his death.