Today's fortysomething stars don't compare to Niekro

	Fortysomethings Most career victories after turning 40 Pitcher Wins 1. Phil Niekro 121 2. Jack Quinn 96 T3. Cy Young 75 T3. Warren Spahn 75 5. Nolan Ryan 71 6. Charlie Hough 67 7. Roger Clemens 55 8. Hoyt Wilhelm 54 9. Jamie Moyer 52 10. Tommy John 51 11. Randy Johnson 50

Nobody in baseball can fail to be amazed by Roger Clemens. The man will be 45 years old later this year and he still can outpitch -- if he decides to keep pitching, that is -- guys half his age. Guys any age, for that matter.

Randy Johnson is 43, and even though he's coming off back surgery and a bumpy two-year ride with the Yankees, nobody anywhere in the game will be surprised if he wins 15-20 games this season now that he's back home with the Diamondbacks in the relative cushiness of the National League West.

Jamie Moyer ... he's 44 and has started at least 30 games and amassed at least 200 innings a season for eight of the past nine years, including the past six straight. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Kenny Rogers, Orlando Hernandez -- even David Wells, to a lesser degree -- all have been reliable starters over the golden years of their careers. And all will be counted on this year to be major parts of their team's staffs. John Smoltz, the ace of the Braves' rotation, joins them in the ranks of 40-something starters this season.

As good as all of those guys have been, though, or as good as they may be for the rest of their pitching lives, none is going to give Phil Niekro a run for late-career durability -- and certainly not for late-career success.

They just don't make them like ol' Knucksie anymore.

"I don't know if guys have to play that long today," Niekro, who will turn 68 on April 1, said with a laugh from his suburban Atlanta home, citing the huge salaries going to starting pitchers these days. "I had to pitch. In my case, it was the money."

Niekro, the Hall of Fame right-hander, is in an age-class of his own as far as starting pitchers go. He defined late-career success, winning more games (121) after turning 40 than anyone in baseball history. Nobody in the game has ever thrown more innings after the age of 40 than Niekro did, either (2,311 1/3 of them). In 1986, he threw 210 1/3 innings -- at the age of 47.

Just for a comparison: Niekro, whose career spanned from 1964 to '87, threw almost 1,000 more innings in his 40s than Clemens threw in his 30s.

Baseball has changed tremendously, of course, in the 20 years since Niekro was dragged into retirement. The bullpen has become a major part of the game. A seven-inning start today is considered a good outing. Complete games are a rarity. (Niekro completed 245 games, including an amazing 21 in 1969; Clemens leads all active pitchers with 118.) The whole mindset of a starting pitcher is different.

"We had a lot of pride when we got the ball. My job, as a starter, was to take the ball from the manager when it was my turn and to give him back the ball when the game was through," Niekro said. "If I didn't do that, I felt like I wasn't doing my job.

"I don't know if guys think that way today."