MLB History: Five Oldest Pitchers to Hit a Homerun

3) Phil Niekro

Coincidentally, Niekro made his Major League debut the same season Spahn hit his final home run.

Niekro debuted on April 15, 1964 with the Milwaukee Braves. Niekro’s time in the league was bumpy to start out, he did not get regular playing time until his fourth year, 1967, when the club had moved to Atlanta. The next year, Niekro’s bat got hit and he hit two home runs in the 1968 season.

Niekro wasn’t only a long ball threat, he also consistently put up 15+ hits for his club. In fact, Niekro’s hitting ability shined when he was just getting dinky singles and the occasional double. Following his two home run season, Niekro was only able to muster a total of five more home runs in his long career.

For his career, Niekro totaled 260 hits with 42 doubles and a lone triple. He totaled a respectable seven home runs on his time in the majors. In contrast to other pitchers on this list, Niekro was not versed in the art of drawing walks and totaled just 17 in his 24-year career.

Niekro’s final home run came in his last game of 1982 on October 1. In his complete game shutout victory over the San Diego Padres, Niekro was aged 43 years and 6 months.

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