Braves Sign Niekro To Contract

BRAVES SIGN:
1B (P) Lance Niekro

No, it's not Phil.

The Atlanta Braves signed retired first baseman Lance Niekro to a minor-league contract and invited him to spring training. They want to turn him into a knuckleballer.

The 30-year old Niekro's previous pitching experience came in a minor league game against the Salt Lake Bees, a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim affiliate. Lance pitched just two-thirds of an inning for the Fresno Grizzlies. He allowed three hits and two runs. He also hit a batter.

Lance's father is the late Joe Niekro and his uncle is Hall of Famer Phil Niekro.

I'm not expecting much from him (what is there to expect?), but it will certainly be fun to see how he does in 2009. Maybe, just maybe, he can continue the Niekro's knuckleball tradition.

EDIT: Cleaned it up a little.