Lance Niekro

1997 GJHS graduate. Major League Baseball player with the San Francisco Giants. Son of MLB 221 games winning knuckleballer pitcher Joe Niekro.[8]

What is Lance Niekro known for?

Lance Niekro, born on January 29, 1979 in Winter Haven, Florida, is a notable American baseball player and coach. A graduate of George W. Jenkins High School in Lakeland, Florida, he later attended Florida Southern College. Notably, while in high school, he transitioned from a knuckleball pitcher to a position player, playing third base during his college career.

In 1999 and 2000, Niekro played collegiate summer baseball for the Orleans Cardinals in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL), where he was named league MVP in 1999. His remarkable performance earned him an induction into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2006.

Niekro was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the second round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft. His professional career took off as a third baseman, but he later moved to first base due to injury. He made his MLB debut in 2003 with the Giants, and played four seasons with them until 2007. Over the course of his career, he posted a batting average of .246, hit 17 home runs, and batted in 79 runs.

Post his on-field career, Niekro moved on to coaching and is currently the head baseball coach of the Florida Southern Moccasins. Interestingly, baseball runs in his family as he is the son of the renowned MLB pitcher Joe Niekro and nephew of MLB pitcher Phil Niekro.

Niekro attempted a short-lived comeback as a knuckleball pitcher, signed by the Atlanta Braves to a minor league contract, before retiring from professional baseball. He then embarked on a career outside of baseball with a telecommunications company.