Even during the Era of the Pitcher in the late 1960s, it seems amazing that a minor league pitcher could be ignored despite back-to-back 16-win seasons.
But such was the fate of right-hander Phil Knuckles, who enjoyed that kind of success in the St. Louis Cardinals' system, but with nary a big league inning to show for it.
It's not like the Cardinals didn't like him; he was part of the organization three separate times. After an 0-4 start to his pro career, he was dealt to the Pirates to end the 1965 season, but returned to the Cardinals for 1966. He rewarded them with a 16-8, 2.72 performance in the FSL. Moving up to the California League for 1967, he duplicated that success with a 16-9 season for Modesto, then won 13 games as he moved up to Double-A Arkansas in '68. While the big leagues seemed all but certain, Knuckles went to the Padres in a ridiculous overspend for just-drafted pitcher Dave Guisti -- a pitcher the Cardinals previously owned for three days before being drafted.
Knuckles, in his first AAA experience, struggled and was moved to the bullpen before again returning to the Cardinals for 1971. Despite an 8-6, 3.49 year in the high minors that season, it would be his last in baseball.
FYI: A web site, Baseball Historian, stated that Knuckles was once on the Cardinals' roster despite not pitching. Haven't seen it anywhere else; was he a Bill Sharman All-Star?
