Born in Akron, Ohio, his family moved to the Napa Valley when he was nine years old, where he attended Calistoga High School.
Career
In the September 1978 issue of SPORT Magazine, Jay Stuller wrote an extraordinarily positive article on Knepper, entitled, "You Can't Compare Him To Koufax...Yet". When Knepper's career failed to reach that standard, critics would later refer to that article and say, "You Can't Compare Him to Koufax...Ever." On December 8, 1980, Knepper was traded from the Giants along with Chris Bourjos to the Astros for Enos Cabell. Knepper welcomed the trade, perceiving the Astros' clubhouse as strongly spiritual, and calling the Bay Area “such a liberal, almost anti-Christian society." He won The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1981. He was voted to the National League All-Star team twice. He led the National League in shutouts in 1978, with six, and in 1986, with five. He also led the league in hit batsmen in 1980, with eight, and losses in 1987, with 17. By July 1989, Knepper was struggling with a 4-10 win-loss record and a 5.89 ERA. The Astros released him after he refused a demotion to the minor leagues, and was signed by the San Francisco Giants a few days later. He pitched the rest of the regular season with San Francisco, but did not make their postseason roster. The Giants waived Knepper in June 1990.
Controversial remarks
During a 1988 season that was one of the best of his career, Knepper made controversial remarks about Pam Postema, a female AAA umpire officiating a Major League spring training game. He said, "I just don’t think a woman should be an umpire. There are certain things a woman shouldn’t be and an umpire is one of them. It’s a physical thing. God created women to be feminine. I don’t think they should be competing with men. It has nothing to do with her ability. I don’t think women should be in any position of leadership. I don’t think they should be presidents or politicians. I think women were created not in an inferior position, but in a role of submission to men. You can be a woman umpire if you want, but that doesn’t mean it’s right. You can be a homosexual if you want, but that doesn’t mean that’s right either." He also criticized the National Organization for Women, saying, "They are a bunch of lesbians. Their focus has nothing to do with women's rights. It has everything to do with women wanting to be men."
